Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Purchases 1,534 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 50.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,534 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 534.5% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 2,817 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Waste Management by 0.7% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 53,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,411,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 358,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,842,000 after acquiring an additional 2,309 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 83.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 680 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 44.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,234,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.7 %

Waste Management stock traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $206.42. 293,619 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,652,769. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.84 billion, a PE ratio of 36.23, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $206.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 53.00%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total value of $363,937.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 55,591 shares in the company, valued at $11,353,349.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.85.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.