Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Acquires 265,158 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 562.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 312,261 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 265,158 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Waste Management worth $55,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 814 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 1.9% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 197,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,122,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 54,745 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,345,000 after acquiring an additional 2,941 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $207.88. 2,219,746 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,683,213. The company has a market cap of $83.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $208.93 and its 200 day moving average is $188.30. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 is available at this hyperlink. In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total value of $363,937.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,591 shares in the company, valued at $11,353,349.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.24.

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.