Townsend & Associates Inc Increases Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Townsend & Associates Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 90,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 2.0% of Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd 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 grew its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $227.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $91.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $230.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $213.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.07.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Argus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,294,071.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,424,457.04. This trade represents a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management 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.