HC Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

HC Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,632 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 132 shares during the quarter. HC Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB raised its position in Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after buying an additional 520,096 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 32.1% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $374,062,000 after buying an additional 437,613 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 138.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,168,000 after acquiring an additional 416,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,668,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC increased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:WM opened at $229.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $215.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.69. The company has a market capitalization of $92.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $232.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.