Trek Financial LLC Has $254,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Trek Financial LLC grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Trek Financial LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 19.6% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,419,000 after buying an additional 2,704 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 74,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,376,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 170.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 333,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $69,322,000 after acquiring an additional 210,258 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 18,472 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,835,000 after purchasing an additional 5,304 shares during the period. Finally, SGL Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $663,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WM. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised 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. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Down 2.2 %

WM opened at $220.22 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average is $226.84 and its 200 day moving average is $217.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its 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%. Research analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other 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 transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % 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 worth $21,662,464 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.