10,596 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Acquired by Redmond Asset Management LLC

Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 10,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,138,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,686,203,000 after buying an additional 168,818 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after acquiring an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Waste Management by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $505,175,000 after acquiring an additional 276,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,087,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $433,262,000 after acquiring an additional 18,983 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.94.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $227.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.00. The company has a market cap of $91.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

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.