Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,750 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $555,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $225.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $220.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.26. The stock has a market cap of $90.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81.

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 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.