Summit Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 29.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,434 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $340,611,000. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after buying an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after buying an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Waste Management by 138.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $149,168,000 after buying an additional 416,579 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM traded up $2.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $236.79. 2,215,276 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,620,750. The company has a market cap of $95.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $226.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $217.24. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $238.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

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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 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. CIBC raised their price target 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. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine 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. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.65.

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.