2,615 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Purchased by Naviter Wealth LLC

Naviter Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $528,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.6% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,741,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $361,450,000 after acquiring an additional 122,696 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.5% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 50.6% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 467 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $229.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. 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 twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,547 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $352,886.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,037 shares in the company, valued at $10,045,280.07. This represents a 3.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Waste Management

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.