Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,992 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $1,844,111.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE WM opened at $207.07 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $207.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.40.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.85.

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.