Diametric Capital LP Purchases 1,710 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Diametric Capital LP increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 173.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,695 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,710 shares during the quarter. Diametric Capital LP’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 907,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $183,180,000 after purchasing an additional 188,983 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 14,621 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,020,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 6,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 260,910 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $52,649,000 after purchasing an additional 13,755 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $231.73 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $224.97 and a 200-day moving average of $216.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (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, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % 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 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on WM. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

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.