Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 109.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,431 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,841 shares during the quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.59.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $233.73 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The stock has a market cap of $94.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $232.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

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 return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president 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, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.