Pineridge Advisors LLC Makes New $35,000 Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 173 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $225.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $90.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $211.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.35. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.48 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. 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 (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. The trade was a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340 over the last ninety days. Company 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.