5,510 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. $WM Purchased by Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC

Key Points

• Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC purchased a new position of 5,510 shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in Q4, valued at about $1.21 million.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $255.64, and several brokers have adjusted targets recently (e.g., Wells Fargo to $273, Oppenheimer to $264).
• Waste Management raised its quarterly dividend from $0.83 to $0.945 (annualized $3.78), yielding ~1.7% with a payout ratio of ~56.4%.

Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,510 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,211,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 101.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on WM. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.64.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $223.98 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $233.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The company has a market capitalization of $90.24 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 6,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc NYSE: WM is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.