Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Takes $3.25 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 16,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,251,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,135,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% during the 3rd 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 position in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,185,967.59. This represents a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $224.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.48 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $211.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Argus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.50.

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.