Sharpepoint LLC Acquires Shares of 1,200 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Sharpepoint LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,200 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WM. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.76.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $228.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,797,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,645,475. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $239.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

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.