Blueshift Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $448,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $226.83 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $91.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $222.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WM. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Company 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.