PDS Planning Inc Has $325,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 111.6% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 2,388 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total value of $69,075.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,641.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total value of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,640,641.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on WM shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.85.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded up $1.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $209.50. 560,762 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,649,668. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $84.07 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.00%.

Waste Management 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.