Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by Weatherly Asset Management L. P.

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 107,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,051 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 2.1% of Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 66.7% in the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 40.1% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. HSBC lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.85.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6 %

WM stock traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $208.77. 1,596,430 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,663,306. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.78. The company has a market cap of $83.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.00%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total transaction of $363,937.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,353,349.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.