Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by Global Retirement Partners LLC

Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% in the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% in the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WM. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $228.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.70. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares in the company, valued at $4,185,967.59. This trade represents a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.