Nebula Research & Development LLC Purchases Shares of 8,212 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,657,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $505,175,000 after purchasing an additional 276,287 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,638,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,327,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 245.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 6,689 shares during the period. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $562,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.28.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $228.28 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 stock has a market capitalization of $91.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.