GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases 24,937 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• GHP Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2,414% in Q4, buying 24,937 shares to hold 25,970 shares valued at about $5.706 million.
• Insiders have been net sellers — 98,042 shares worth $23,039,777 sold in the past 90 days (including COO John J. Morris and VP Donald J. Smith), leaving insiders with just 0.18% ownership.
• Waste Management raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78, ~1.7% yield), and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $255.64.

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2,414.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,970 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 24,937 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after buying an additional 774,255 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $1,250,613,000 after purchasing an additional 277,250 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $873,276,000 after purchasing an additional 11,688 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Waste Management by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $781,494,000 after purchasing an additional 236,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its holdings in Waste Management by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $720,380,000 after purchasing an additional 364,512 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.64.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.0%

WM stock opened at $223.97 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $233.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.11. 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 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The stock has a market cap of $90.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given 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 yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

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.

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