Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC Acquires 1,854 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,198 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,854 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.9% of Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $24,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WM shares. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $230.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,372,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,643,668. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $239.32. The stock has a market cap of $92.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $227.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.04.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

About Waste Management

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.