Y.D. More Investments Ltd Increases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2,355.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,486 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Old Port Advisors grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,727,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group grew its stake in Waste Management by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 801 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Money Management grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 2,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canton Hathaway LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 9,644 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.1%

WM stock opened at $235.23 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $94.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.54. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $232.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares in the company, valued at $24,177,625.92. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.59.

Waste Management Company 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.