Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by Modern Wealth Management LLC

Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 26.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC lifted 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, March 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $229.16 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $224.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $216.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 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 37.93%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. 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. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management 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.