Keel Point LLC Boosts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Keel Point LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Waste Management by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,370,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,156,281,000 after buying an additional 1,718,449 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Waste Management by 16.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $827,815,000 after purchasing an additional 776,491 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.3% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $794,174,000 after purchasing an additional 66,816 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,112,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,972,000 after purchasing an additional 160,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 110,208.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,778,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $749,659,000 after buying an additional 4,774,218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:WM opened at $204.96 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $214.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $206.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.27. The company has a market capitalization of $82.25 billion, a PE ratio of 36.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total value of $363,937.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 55,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,353,349.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,507 shares of company stock valued at $4,157,770 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.85.

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.