Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Vise Technologies Inc.

Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 80.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,602 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,566,508,000 after acquiring an additional 553,605 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,972,371,000 after acquiring an additional 117,476 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,250,613,000 after acquiring an additional 277,250 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $1,022,916,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,276,000 after acquiring an additional 11,688 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $220.45 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.46. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The firm has a market cap of $88.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WM. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,515 shares of company stock worth $1,099,450. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.