Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by NorthRock Partners LLC

NorthRock Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 57.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,290 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,283 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WM shares. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.29.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded up $1.74 on Friday, hitting $229.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,639,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,657,523. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $228.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $221.63. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. The stock has a market cap of $92.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 3,094 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $705,772.34. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 53,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,241,066.93. The trade was a 5.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Company 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.