Certuity LLC Buys New Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Certuity LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 40.1% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.24.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $206.71 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54. The company has a market cap of $82.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.83, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.17.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

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

About Waste Management

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.