Csenge Advisory Group Boosts Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 29.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $538,013,000 after acquiring an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,063,072,000 after buying an additional 520,096 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 32.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after acquiring an additional 437,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 138.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,168,000 after acquiring an additional 416,579 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,185,967.59. This represents a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WM. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. CIBC upped their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3 %

WM stock opened at $228.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $91.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $212.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

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.