Avanza Fonder AB Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 39,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,983,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.1 %

Waste Management stock opened at $211.27 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $214.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.23. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.56 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. 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 (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WM. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 4th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.