Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 75,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $16,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 23,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,053,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. Rayburn West Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 2,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on WM shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 54,842 shares of company stock valued at $13,140,382 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $216.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $86.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.29, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $230.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.91.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 54.70%.

Waste Management Profile

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.