WT Wealth Management Acquires 579 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

WT Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the quarter. WT Wealth Management’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.9 %

Waste Management stock opened at $228.64 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $232.44. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $214.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.58. The firm has a market cap of $91.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

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.