SageGuard Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

SageGuard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 26,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,858,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,339,000 after acquiring an additional 20,122 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $83,843,000 after acquiring an additional 148,590 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $224.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $90.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.17.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 56.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.