Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Invests $283,000 in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 12,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,853 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 31,472 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,637,000 after buying an additional 5,472 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $570,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $820,000 after buying an additional 1,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One SA PTY Ltd increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd now owns 37,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded up $2.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $207.12. 1,354,000 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,594,248. The stock has a market cap of $83.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $207.30 and a 200-day moving average of $184.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders 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. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.85.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,640,641.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.