Scholtz & Company LLC Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Scholtz & Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 19,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,842,000. Waste Management accounts for approximately 1.8% of Scholtz & Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in Waste Management by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 19,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,042,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,729,000. Centric Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,373,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 17,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,606,000 after buying an additional 4,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,654,173,000 after acquiring an additional 64,260 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $233.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $225.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.98.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released 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%. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Nine investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

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.