Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Has $766,000 Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 29.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of WM opened at $229.51 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $218.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.78. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $235.81. The company has a market cap of $92.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75, a PEG 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 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%. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,547 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total value of $352,886.17. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,045,280.07. This trade represents a 3.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

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.