Ipsen Advisor Group LLC Acquires Shares of 3,405 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ipsen Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,405 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $687,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5 %

Waste Management stock traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $227.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,264,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,188. The firm has a market cap of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $224.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.56.

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Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.