Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by NEOS Investment Management LLC

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 30.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,060 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,976 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Waste Management by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 26,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,268,000 after acquiring an additional 3,662 shares during the last quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $1,360,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 607,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $122,521,000 after buying an additional 43,218 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 11,790 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,379,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:WM opened at $229.16 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $224.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.37. 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 cap of $92.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. Scotiabank upped 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. Nine investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

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.