Empirical Asset Management LLC Makes New $5.03 Million Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 24,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,031,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,686,203,000 after acquiring an additional 168,818 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 520,096 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,523,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $969,401,000 after buying an additional 12,664 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $820,539,000 after buying an additional 243,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $211.02 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.25 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $214.24 and a 200-day moving average of $211.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market capitalization of $84.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus raised their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned 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 $230.72.

Waste Management 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.