Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Raises Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 107,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 2.1% of Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,963,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,061,521,000 after purchasing an additional 46,084 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 16.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $827,815,000 after purchasing an additional 776,491 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $794,174,000 after purchasing an additional 66,816 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,065,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $619,797,000 after buying an additional 90,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,446,103 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $372,886,000 after buying an additional 9,001 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,640,641.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total value of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,640,641.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of WM stock traded up $1.24 on Tuesday, hitting $208.77. 1,596,430 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,663,306. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $207.69 and a 200 day moving average of $185.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 posted $1.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 53.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on WM shares. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. HSBC lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.85.

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.