2,849 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Bought by Bradyco Inc.

Bradyco Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $575,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,173 shares of company stock worth $17,075,967 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $225.83 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $217.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $90.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James increased their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Company 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.