Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC Takes $624,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $624,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:WM opened at $224.76 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.91. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.