M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Takes $290,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,436 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. Trium Capital LLP raised its position in Waste Management by 33.6% in the third quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,980,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.72.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $211.79 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.56 and a 1 year high of $230.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $213.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.25.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management 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.