2,768 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Bought by Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,768 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $559,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. Florida Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $248,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $255,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 8,587 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted 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. Raymond James lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC boosted their price objective 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.65.

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Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $227.80. 1,264,803 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,616,188. The firm has a market cap of $91.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $235.81. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $224.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change 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%.

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.