NBW Capital LLC Raises Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

NBW Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. NBW Capital LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $233.53 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $216.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.21. The firm has a market cap of $93.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

About Waste Management

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.