Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Acquired by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,933 shares during the quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Old Port Advisors increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,727,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.3% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group increased its stake in Waste Management by 6.7% during the third quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 801 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 98,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. The trade was a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 44,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,674,944.26. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.64.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0%

Waste Management stock opened at $223.97 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $233.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.12. The company has a market capitalization of $90.24 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.42%.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.