Choreo LLC Has $4.34 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Choreo LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,291 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 101.5% in 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 in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on WM shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. 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 research note on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.82.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $229.44 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $92.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $233.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.88.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total value of $1,724,044.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,644,130. This trade represents a 32.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

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.