Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,597 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in Waste Management by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,255 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,464,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust lifted its position in Waste Management by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,614 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,953,000. Finally, Sage Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Sage Advisors LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE WM traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $228.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,256,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,679,337. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The company's 50-day moving average price is $212.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.70. The company has a market capitalization of $91.67 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus upped their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.94.

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.