Wolverine Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $896,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 22,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,348,000 after purchasing an additional 22,455 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 13,927.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,319,000 after purchasing an additional 500,701 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $212.65 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $208.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.50.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at $7,262,034.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 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 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.