Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Buys 201 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,536 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $109,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. First National Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 20,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,076,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. GWN Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,155,000. Finally, Glenview Trust co boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.7 %

WM stock opened at $227.37 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $221.92 and its 200 day moving average is $215.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The firm has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (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 37.93%. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.