4,533 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. $WM Purchased by Michael Brady & Co. LLC

Michael Brady & Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $996,000. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.0% of Michael Brady & Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SageGuard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $5,858,000. Greystone Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 58,070 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,759,000 after buying an additional 4,342 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 6,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,464,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 55 North Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $322,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.64.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $224.39 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The stock has a market cap of $90.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $233.12 and a 200-day moving average of $222.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 56.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.