F m Investments LLC Purchases 11,197 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

F m Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,197 shares during the period. F m Investments LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,179,000 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 company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,566,508,000 after purchasing an additional 553,605 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,250,613,000 after purchasing an additional 277,250 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,276,000 after purchasing an additional 11,688 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Waste Management by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $781,494,000 after purchasing an additional 236,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $720,380,000 after acquiring an additional 364,512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $215.18 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The company has a market capitalization of $86.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 91,959 shares of company stock valued at $21,698,005. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.67.

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.