Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 25,328 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 26.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,328 shares during the quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $26,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 444.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $487,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800,728 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Waste Management by 218.3% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $302,494,000 after purchasing an additional 939,455 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 163.7% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $309,317,000 after purchasing an additional 869,453 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after purchasing an additional 774,255 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3,209.2% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,466,000 after buying an additional 660,776 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $223.97 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $233.24 and its 200-day moving average is $222.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.24 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.945 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.42%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 98,656 shares in the company, valued at $24,177,625.92. The trade was a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total value of $1,724,044.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,644,130. This represents a 32.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on WM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.64.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.