Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by World Equity Group Inc.

World Equity Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 121.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,018 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,655 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 31,621 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,381,000 after buying an additional 1,847 shares in the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 4,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $971,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,196 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after buying an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5 %

WM opened at $227.89 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $213.43 and a 200-day moving average of $213.12. 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 company has a market capitalization of $91.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,294,071.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,424,457.04. This trade represents a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.