Northeast Financial Group Inc. Has $743,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Northeast Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Northeast Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 826 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 50.6% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,937,000 after acquiring an additional 4,628 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.6% during the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 5,065 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $853,000. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $332,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 5.1 %

WM stock opened at $220.25 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $212.43 and its 200-day moving average is $211.29. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $184.72 and a twelve month high of $230.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released 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 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on WM. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.39.

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.