Westbourne Investments Inc. Invests $1.58 Million in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Westbourne Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 7,828 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,580,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded up $0.57 on Friday, hitting $233.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,227,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,645,279. The stock has a market cap of $94.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $228.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.29.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,294,071.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,424,457.04. The trade was a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,924 shares of company stock worth $21,298,176 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.