Cohen Capital Management Inc. Takes $3.25 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Cohen Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,252,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter worth $30,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 203 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. 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 report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.59.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WM opened at $235.23 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $232.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.