MWA Asset Management Has $889,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

MWA Asset Management lessened its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,405 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $889,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WM. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WM. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.50.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $224.94 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $211.90 and a 200-day moving average of $211.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.48 and a 12-month high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 44.12%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,294,071.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,424,457.04. This trade represents a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.