480 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Acquired by Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc.

Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 480 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $97,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,063,072,000 after acquiring an additional 520,096 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $374,062,000 after acquiring an additional 437,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Waste Management by 138.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $149,168,000 after acquiring an additional 416,579 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on WM shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.50.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $225.95 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.48 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The company has a market capitalization of $90.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $211.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 44.12%.

About Waste Management

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.