Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock Holdings Increased by Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich

Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.1% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its position in Waste Management by 4.1% in the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Mcrae Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares in the company, valued at $4,185,967.59. The trade was a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $226.78 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.48 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.02 billion, a PE ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $211.85 and its 200-day moving average is $211.53.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS 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 38.88%. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WM. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.50.

About Waste Management

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.