NEOS Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 30.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,060 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,976 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 8.5% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 27,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,663,000 after buying an additional 2,133 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 34,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 3.2% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 97,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,226,000 after purchasing an additional 3,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 21.7% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,332,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $229.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81. The company has a market cap of $92.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 released 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction 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. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.