Dnca Finance Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Dnca Finance purchased a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 28,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,650,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WM. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.76.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $1.86 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $226.77. The stock had a trading volume of 990,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,643,013. The stock's 50 day moving average is $227.96 and its 200 day moving average is $219.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $239.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.24 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

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.