Clune & Associates LTD. Acquires New Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Clune & Associates LTD. bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,481 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $501,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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Waste Management Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $0.28 during trading on Thursday, reaching $228.66. The stock had a trading volume of 640,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,527,420. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The firm's fifty day moving average is $223.89 and its 200 day moving average is $216.28. The stock has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.