Third View Private Wealth LLC Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Third View Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 14,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,135,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter worth $1,583,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter worth $3,092,000. Guerra Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 59.5% during the third quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,996,000 after buying an additional 3,371 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,192,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 537.0% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 95,721 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,138,000 after buying an additional 80,695 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $230.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $233.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.97. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The company has a market cap of $92.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WM. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.82.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.