Broyhill Asset Management Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Broyhill Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,237 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $340,611,000. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,668,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $230.84. 1,372,304 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,642,511. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $239.32. The stock has a market cap of $92.87 billion, a PE ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $227.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.96.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend 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.