Olde Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,757 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $830,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter worth $1,064,206,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 444.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,157,000 after buying an additional 1,800,728 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 55.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,897,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $663,037,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034,258 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Waste Management by 218.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $302,494,000 after acquiring an additional 939,455 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 982.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,692,000 after acquiring an additional 804,285 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.0%

Waste Management stock opened at $238.61 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $229.82 and a 200 day moving average of $220.39. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $96.24 billion, a PE ratio of 35.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.57.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.