Phoenix Financial Ltd. Grows Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James increased their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on 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, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.76.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $229.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $227.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.19. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $239.32. The company has a market capitalization of $92.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last 90 days. 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.