Capital Analysts LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the quarter. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $205.36. 1,374,360 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,690,355. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $205.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.85.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $33,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,461 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,441. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $461,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,959 shares in the company, valued at $6,080,935.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $33,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,461 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,441. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,242 shares of company stock valued at $5,929,355 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.