Allstate Corp Purchases New Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 12,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,428,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $227.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $91.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.56.

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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. 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 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WM. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

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.