Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.5% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 51.0% in the second quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 43,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,526,000 after acquiring an additional 14,664 shares in the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.0% in the third quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 22,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,455,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. MWA Asset Management bought a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter worth $670,000. Finally, Herold Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 189.3% in the third quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 7,946 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,211,000 after acquiring an additional 5,199 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.47.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total transaction of $363,937.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 55,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,353,349.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $33,485.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 56,461 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,441. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total value of $363,937.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 55,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,353,349.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,242 shares of company stock valued at $5,929,355 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $213.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $200.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The company has a market cap of $85.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. Analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.00%.

Waste Management Company 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.