Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stake Raised by Patten & Patten Inc. TN

Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,070 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 7.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,570,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter worth approximately $249,000. Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 13.4% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 27.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 62,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,002,000 after buying an additional 13,604 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE WM opened at $228.02 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $91.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $221.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.47.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WM. Raymond James upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.