Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC Acquires New Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,750 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $756,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. KKM Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. KKM Financial LLC now owns 14,340 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,894,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 3,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 72.6% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 4,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,885 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $3,650,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 22,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,475,000 after buying an additional 3,954 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James boosted 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. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total transaction of $1,304,087.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,646,598.37. The trade was a 9.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $233.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $93.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $228.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $221.15. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $239.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

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.