Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Raises Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,513 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. now owns 3,832 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 1,348 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 252,022 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,856,000 after purchasing an additional 23,512 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 33,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,667,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in Waste Management by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 201,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,667,000 after buying an additional 64,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $743,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $222.57 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $184.72 and a one year high of $230.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $212.26 and a 200 day moving average of $211.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.73, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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 $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, CIBC increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.39.

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.