Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Wolverine Asset Management LLC

Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 162.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its position in 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. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 11.3% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after acquiring an additional 437,613 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 138.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,168,000 after acquiring an additional 416,579 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2 %

WM stock opened at $229.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $230.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $213.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its 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 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,294,071.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,424,457.04. This trade represents a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Company 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.