Capital Management Associates Inc Increases Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Capital Management Associates Inc lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Capital Management Associates Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth 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. bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Ten research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.50.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $224.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $90.28 billion, a PE ratio of 33.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $211.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.43. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.48 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released 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 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

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.