EntryPoint Capital LLC Purchases 172 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $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 fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $228.90 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $223.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.28. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $235.81. 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 market capitalization of $92.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (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 37.93%. Equities research analysts forecast 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 given a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.