Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Investment House LLC

Investment House LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 134,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 297 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises about 1.5% of Investment House LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Investment House LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $27,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $387,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $447,000. Enhancing Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $2,643,000. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 91,978 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,560,000 after purchasing an additional 2,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $4,542,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $225.80 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. 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 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % 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, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on WM. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.