RD Lewis Holdings Inc. Acquires New Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 2,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $566,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,570,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $249,000. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $664,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 62,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,002,000 after acquiring an additional 13,604 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $228.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $221.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Company 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.