Modern Wealth Management LLC Increases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 65.7% during 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:WM opened at $229.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81. The stock has a market cap of $92.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.37.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WM. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank increased their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.