Wedbush Securities Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,020 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,526,823,000 after acquiring an additional 538,567 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $225.34 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $239.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $226.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $217.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.