Flputnam Investment Management Co. Makes New $442,000 Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $442,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth $29,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $461,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,080,935.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $461,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,080,935.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,507 shares of company stock valued at $4,157,770 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $206.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.42, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $206.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.43. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on WM shares. 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 Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.85.

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.