Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,734 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 405 shares during the quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:WM opened at $229.51 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $218.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.81. 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 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 75,173 shares of company stock worth $17,075,967. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.