Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Position Increased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 234,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,962 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $42,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 127.3% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 40.1% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WM. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Raymond James upped their target price on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.24.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of WM opened at $207.88 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $208.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.