Scholtz & Company LLC Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Scholtz & Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 19,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,842,000. Waste Management comprises 1.8% of Scholtz & Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Waste Management by 21.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,332,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $214,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 486.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 32,380 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,729,000 after purchasing an additional 26,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,398,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.0 %

WM opened at $233.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $225.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.98. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James upped their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

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.