Vista Investment Partners II LLC Acquires Shares of 14,059 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,059 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,837,000. Waste Management makes up 1.7% of Vista Investment Partners II LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in Waste Management by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,741,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $361,450,000 after buying an additional 122,696 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $944,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,077 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 217.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,764 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,064,000 after buying an additional 10,109 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $229.51 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $92.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $218.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued 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 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on WM shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James increased their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC increased their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $941,181.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,288,582.29. This trade represents a 6.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock worth $17,075,967. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.