PDS Planning Inc Boosts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

PDS Planning Inc grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,976 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $225.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $221.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market cap of $90.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value 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 represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently 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.