Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during 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 last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $229.73 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $232.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market cap of $92.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.69.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WM. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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 $235.94.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.