Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Buys Shares of 1,266 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,266 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $225.83 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The company has a market cap of $90.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.57.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on 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, StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

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.