Nikulski Financial Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Nikulski Financial Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,484 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Argus raised their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.72.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $209.43 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $212.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $183.00 and a 52-week high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Waste Management 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.