Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. Takes $50,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 248 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $50,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 18.2% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,332,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 54.0% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 83,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,355,000 after purchasing an additional 29,315 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter worth approximately $16,245,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $227.80 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $224.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.63. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $235.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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 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, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WM. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer increased 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 cut their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.