Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Acquires Shares of 9,504 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,702,000. Waste Management comprises about 1.6% of Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 127.3% during the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $210.00. 1,145,569 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,671,851. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. 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 market cap of $84.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.80.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several research reports. HSBC lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.24.

Waste Management Company 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.