PDS Planning Inc Grows Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

PDS Planning Inc increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,976 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 308 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Mystic Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 179.0% in the 4th quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,110,000 after purchasing an additional 13,067 shares during the last quarter. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $566,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $379,000. Terra Alpha Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,230,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’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 transaction of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $225.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $90.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.57.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.