Burney Co. Boosts Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Burney Co. increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 67,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,427,000 after buying an additional 13,193 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 9.4% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 55,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,779,000 after acquiring an additional 4,749 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Waste Management by 2.2% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 60,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 3.5% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 72,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,480,000 after purchasing an additional 2,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.72.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $211.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $85.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.56 and a 52-week high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $214.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is 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.