POM Investment Strategies LLC Takes $38,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 189 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. This represents a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $225.95 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $187.48 and a one year high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $90.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $211.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid 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 was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on WM. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.50.

About Waste Management

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.