New England Research & Management Inc. Grows Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

New England Research & Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,528 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the quarter. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Argus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.7 %

WM opened at $209.93 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $184.72 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market capitalization of $84.26 billion, a PE ratio of 32.10, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

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.