EHP Funds Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,900 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

EHP Funds Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,900 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $787,000. Waste Management comprises approximately 0.7% of EHP Funds Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC increased its position 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 valued at $505,175,000 after purchasing an additional 276,287 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 11.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 404,121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $86,279,000 after buying an additional 40,609 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 6.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $99,759,000 after acquiring an additional 28,266 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, First County Bank CT grew its holdings in Waste Management by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 1,132 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $233.03. 1,484,167 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,646,245. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $239.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $228.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $221.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $93.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm'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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.29.

About Waste Management

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.