Vident Advisory LLC Acquires 16,377 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 190.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,377 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Twinbeech Capital LP raised its stake in Waste Management by 220.5% in the fourth quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 346,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,924,000 after buying an additional 238,402 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 280,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,562,000 after purchasing an additional 34,800 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 38,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,736,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 527.2% during the fourth quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 7,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 6,579 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 98.7% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 892 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,646,598.37. This represents a 9.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $231.87 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.80. The stock has a market cap of $93.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.29.

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.