Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd Buys 9,310 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 172.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,310 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for about 3.8% of Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,570,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 27.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 62,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,002,000 after buying an additional 13,604 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 23.0% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,499,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $224.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $90.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $222.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.82.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. 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 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

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.