Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 1,954 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $394,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:WM opened at $229.51 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $218.22 and a 200-day moving average of $214.81. The company has a market cap of $92.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $352,886.17. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,037 shares in the company, valued at $10,045,280.07. This trade represents a 3.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.