Level Four Advisory Services LLC Buys 245 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,526,823,000 after acquiring an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,686,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,818 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $1,009,726,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Waste Management by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $227.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $216.56. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

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.