Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Guardian Capital LP

Guardian Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Guardian Capital LP’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $17,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. CIBC boosted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Finally, 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.53.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $228.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $227.95 and a 200-day moving average of $219.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.05 billion, a PE ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued 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 was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.