Praxis Capital Management LLC Invests $757,000 in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Praxis Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $757,000. Waste Management accounts for 2.7% of Praxis Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Guerra Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 59.5% in the third quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,192,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Compass Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 537.0% in the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 95,721 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,138,000 after purchasing an additional 80,695 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 19.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 69,287 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,301,000 after purchasing an additional 11,135 shares during the period. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 333.1% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,855,000 after purchasing an additional 6,493 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.67.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 35,296 shares of company stock worth $8,569,283 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2%

WM opened at $218.09 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $227.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 54.70%.

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.