Investment House LLC Grows Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Investment House LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 134,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 1.5% of Investment House LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Investment House LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $27,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew 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 during the period. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WM. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.0 %

WM stock opened at $225.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $90.80 billion, a PE ratio of 33.21, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $221.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.