Garner Asset Management Corp Boosts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for 1.0% of Garner Asset Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,175,000 after buying an additional 276,287 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 990 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,638,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,327,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 245.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 6,689 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $229.30 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $227.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $92.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WM. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % 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 valued at $21,662,464. 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.