GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 60 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 874 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,135,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $854,446,000 after acquiring an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 5,367 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $224.94 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $211.90 and its 200 day moving average is $211.43. The stock has a market cap of $90.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.48 and a 52-week high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.50.

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.