Fire Capital Management LLC Takes $577,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,859 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $577,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Waste Management by 250.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,905 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,265,629,000 after buying an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,506,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:WM traded up $3.33 on Friday, hitting $241.09. 2,439,995 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,665,314. The company's 50-day moving average price is $230.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $241.61.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 87,947 shares of company stock worth $20,536,508. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Nine research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.06.

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.