Xponance Inc. Purchases 2,746 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,978 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,746 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned 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 $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.4 %

WM stock opened at $228.02 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $221.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $91.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.