Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Buys 6,726 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,813 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,726 shares during the quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 55,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,458,000 after purchasing an additional 6,391 shares during the period. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $10,206,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 460,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,776,000 after buying an additional 14,003 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Waste Management by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 409,741 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,155,000 after buying an additional 57,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $771,629.10. The trade was a 28.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of WM stock opened at $216.30 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The company has a market capitalization of $86.46 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $228.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.89.

About Waste Management

WM, Inc, formerly known as Waste Management, Inc, is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, helping manage everyday refuse as well as certain specialized waste streams.

Its operations include curbside and commercial waste collection, transfer stations, recycling facilities, landfills and waste-related energy services. WM also develops renewable natural gas and electricity projects that capture landfill gas for use as an energy source.