CWA Asset Management Group LLC Purchases 163 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WMGet Rating) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,616 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CGN Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 7,657 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,053 shares in the last quarter. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $158,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 66,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,473,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Symmetry Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 5,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 78.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 15,204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.03, for a total value of $2,357,076.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at $14,799,318.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 15,204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.03, for a total value of $2,357,076.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,799,318.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 7,515 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $1,164,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 46,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,214,010. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,027 shares of company stock worth $4,806,619 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.6 %

Waste Management stock opened at $153.15 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $138.89 and a fifty-two week high of $175.98. The stock has a market cap of $62.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WMGet Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 32.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 8th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 51.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $183.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $157.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.50.

Waste Management Profile

(Get Rating)

Waste Management, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of waste management environmental services. It operates through the following segments: East Tier, West Tier, and Other. The East Tier segment consists of Eastern U.S., the Great Lakes Region, and Canada. The West Tier segment includes the upper Midwest region and British Columbia, Canada.

Recommended Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WMGet Rating).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Waste Management (NYSE:WM)

Receive News & Ratings for Waste Management Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Waste Management and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.