Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,192 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $240,000.
A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Waste Management by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WM. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upped 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. Nine 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.65.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Waste Management
Waste Management Price Performance
WM stock traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $227.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,622,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,929. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81.
Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.
Waste Management Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management
In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Waste Management Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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