Entropy Technologies LP Purchases New Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 30,059 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,066,000. Waste Management accounts for approximately 0.6% of Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 11.3% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 32.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after purchasing an additional 437,613 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Waste Management by 138.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,168,000 after purchasing an additional 416,579 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WM. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.50.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of WM opened at $224.94 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.48 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $211.84 and a 200 day moving average of $211.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued 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 1.33%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

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.