Greystone Financial Group LLC Invests $7.39 Million in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Greystone Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 36,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,387,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $562,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $143,000. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 30,409 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,136,000 after buying an additional 1,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 162.5% during the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 21,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,238,000 after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,185,967.59. This represents 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 Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several recent research reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5 %

WM stock opened at $227.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $213.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

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.