37,854 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. $WM Purchased by Night Squared LP

Night Squared LP acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 37,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,359,000. Waste Management makes up 3.0% of Night Squared LP’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth $1,583,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at $3,092,000. Guerra Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 59.5% in the third quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 537.0% in the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 95,721 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,138,000 after acquiring an additional 80,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 19.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 69,287 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,301,000 after acquiring an additional 11,135 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WM. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:WM opened at $238.61 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $229.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.57.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.25%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,279,294.11. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at $24,320,720.02. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Waste Management

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.