Directional Asset Management Buys New Shares in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Directional Asset Management acquired a new position of 6,192 shares in Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in Q4, valued at about $1.36 million and representing roughly 1.2% of its holdings (its 25th-largest holding).
• Significant insider selling: COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares on March 6 (~$1.96M) and CEO James C. Fish Jr. sold 30,390 shares on Feb 9 (~$7.00M), with insiders selling 98,042 shares worth about $23.04M in the last 90 days.
• Operational and market snapshot: WM slightly missed Q4 estimates (EPS $1.93 vs. $1.95; revenue $6.31B vs. $6.39B), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 ($3.78 annual, 1.6% yield), and holds a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $255.64 price target.

Directional Asset Management acquired a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,192 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,361,000. Waste Management accounts for approximately 1.2% of Directional Asset Management's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after purchasing an additional 774,255 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after buying an additional 277,250 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Waste Management by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $873,276,000 after buying an additional 11,688 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Waste Management by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $781,494,000 after acquiring an additional 236,439 shares during the period. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 12.6% in the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $720,380,000 after acquiring an additional 364,512 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. This trade represents a 7.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total value of $7,000,640.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 225,793 shares in the company, valued at $52,013,675.48. This trade represents a 11.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WM. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.64.

Waste Management Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $232.98 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $232.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.945 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 56.42%.

Waste Management Profile

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.

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