one8zero8 LLC Invests $217,000 in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

one8zero8 LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 10.1% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,077 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 26.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,172,000 after buying an additional 2,198 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:WM opened at $225.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $90.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50 day moving average is $220.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, analysts predict 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 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 represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.