Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys 849 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 849 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,750,000 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 stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 22,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,348,000 after purchasing an additional 22,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 13,927.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,319,000 after purchasing an additional 500,701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded down $2.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $210.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,650,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,589,993. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $208.54 and its 200 day moving average is $186.87. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Raymond James raised their price target on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.