Ellsworth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for 1.7% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,113,191 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,141,190,000 after purchasing an additional 121,055 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Waste Management by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,370,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,156,281,000 after buying an additional 1,718,449 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 worth $827,815,000 after acquiring an additional 776,491 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 66,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,112,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,972,000 after purchasing an additional 160,466 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Waste Management from $163.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $33,485.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 56,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,441. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $33,485.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 56,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,441. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 9,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total transaction of $1,738,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,816,516. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,242 shares of company stock worth $5,929,355. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $213.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,699,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,476,426. The stock has a market cap of $85.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.12. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.00%.

Waste Management Company 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.