Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 1,126 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upped 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, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.4 %

WM opened at $234.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $225.85 and a 200-day moving average of $217.10. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The company has a market capitalization of $94.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly 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 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

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.