Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 33,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 49,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,270,000 after acquiring an additional 7,776 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in Waste Management by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 99,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,552,000 after purchasing an additional 10,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 10.7% in the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 13,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,294,071.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,424,457.04. This trade represents a 7.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $227.89 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $213.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.12. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The firm has a market cap of $91.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Argus upped their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

Waste Management 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.