NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Buys 68,672 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 524.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,759 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 68,672 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $16,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:WM traded up $3.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $241.09. 2,439,995 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,665,314. The firm has a market cap of $97.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. 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's fifty day moving average price is $230.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.68. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month 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 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94% 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, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 87,947 shares of company stock valued at $20,536,508. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Nine 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.