Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Bought by Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.

Key Points

• Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel increased its stake in Waste Management by 26.7% in Q4, owning 120,350 shares after adding 25,328 shares, valued at about $26.44 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — including VP Donald J. Smith and SVP Tara J. Hemmer — with 98,042 shares sold (≈$23.04 million) in the last 90 days; insiders now own only 0.18% of the stock.
• Analysts have been raising price targets (consensus target ≈$255.64, rating: Moderate Buy), and Waste Management also boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78, ~1.7% yield).

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 26.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,350 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,328 shares during the quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $26,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at $1,583,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth $3,092,000. Guerra Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 59.5% during the third quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $43,192,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 537.0% in the 3rd quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 95,721 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $21,138,000 after purchasing an additional 80,695 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the vice president owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target 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, Wolfe Research started coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.64.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $223.97 on Friday. The company 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $233.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.11.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm's revenue 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, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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