New York Life Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy 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 $235.94.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $229.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $232.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $215.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.69.

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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $15,025,861 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.