Capital Management Associates Inc Raises Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Capital Management Associates Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Capital Management Associates Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 4.7% during the third quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $224.94 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $211.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.43. The stock has a market cap of $90.28 billion, a PE ratio of 33.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 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 $187.48 and a one year high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,185,967.59. This trade represents a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.50.

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.