Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 98.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,553 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 28,596 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 67.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, December 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $229.33.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $1.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $222.19. The company had a trading volume of 1,787,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,443,650. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $171.15 and a 52-week high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $89.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.97, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

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.