Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by GPM Growth Investors Inc.

GPM Growth Investors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 144.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,045 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,522 shares during the quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,741,090 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $361,450,000 after purchasing an additional 122,696 shares during the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 84,039 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $17,446,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $539,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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Waste Management Trading Up 1.6 %

Waste Management stock traded up $3.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $229.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,906,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,524,248. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $218.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.73. The stock has a market cap of $92.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

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 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, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. 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 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price 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. Nine investment 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, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.65.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.