Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 13.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,977 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,513 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter worth about $1,583,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,092,000. Guerra Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 59.5% in the third quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371 shares during the period. Compass Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 537.0% in the 3rd quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 95,721 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,138,000 after purchasing an additional 80,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 69,287 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,301,000 after purchasing an additional 11,135 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.55.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $238.14. 483,736 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,355,943. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $96.05 billion, a PE ratio of 35.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $229.41 and its 200-day moving average is $220.29.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results 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). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total value of $7,000,640.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 225,793 shares in the company, valued at $52,013,675.48. This represents a 11.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Waste Management

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.