Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Takes $559,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $559,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Florida Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $248,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in Waste Management by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 8,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,733,000 after buying an additional 2,630 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $227.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The company has a market cap of $91.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 55,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,646,598.37. The trade was a 9.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.