Vident Advisory LLC Has $5.04 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 190.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,377 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $941,181.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,288,582.29. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE WM opened at $231.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.80. The company has a market capitalization of $93.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target 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. HSBC raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.29.

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.