Vista Investment Partners II LLC Takes $2.84 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 14,059 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,837,000. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.7% of Vista Investment Partners II LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total value of $352,886.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 44,037 shares in the company, valued at $10,045,280.07. This represents a 3.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 75,173 shares of company stock worth $17,075,967 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $229.51 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $218.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.81. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on WM. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

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.