Goodman Financial Corp Takes $16.90 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Goodman Financial Corp bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 76,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,898,000. Waste Management accounts for approximately 3.2% of Goodman Financial Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after purchasing an additional 774,255 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,250,613,000 after buying an additional 277,250 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $1,064,206,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Waste Management by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,276,000 after acquiring an additional 11,688 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Waste Management by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,596,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $804,809,000 after acquiring an additional 284,733 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.1%

Waste Management stock opened at $231.18 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $231.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.63. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The company has a market cap of $93.24 billion, a PE ratio of 34.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 56.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WM. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.59.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 98,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total value of $7,000,640.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 225,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,013,675.48. This trade represents a 11.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Waste Management

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.