Dougherty & Associates LLC Takes $962,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Dougherty & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $962,000. Waste Management makes up 0.9% of Dougherty & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.0%

WM opened at $219.84 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $229.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.99. The firm has a market cap of $88.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 44,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,490 shares of company stock valued at $11,416,338. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.