Fairway Wealth LLC Increases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 87.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $40,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 3,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 30,096 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,073,000 after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares during the period. Founders Financial Alliance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 4,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $971,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the period. Miller Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $402,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 10,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $227.72 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $218.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC boosted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.