Wolverine Asset Management LLC Invests $954,000 in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $954,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 2.0% in the first quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% during the first quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 31.3% during the first quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 260 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Hampshire Trust raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% during the second quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 2,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 78.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $169.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $68.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.70. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.31 and a twelve month high of $173.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.27 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.47% and a return on equity of 34.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 30th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, September 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $192.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bruce E. Chinn sold 172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.44, for a total transaction of $27,423.68. Following the sale, the director now owns 822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,059.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.27% 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.