Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 248 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 248 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $50,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,686,203,000 after buying an additional 168,818 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,265,629,000 after buying an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Waste Management by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $854,446,000 after acquiring an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $227.80 on Monday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $224.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.