Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by NBW Capital LLC

NBW Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 892.9% in 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 during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3 %

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

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results 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 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,587 shares in the company, valued at $12,646,598.37. This represents a 9.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

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.