Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Invests $222,000 in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE WM traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $210.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,282,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,677,830. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The company has a market capitalization of $84.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $209.04 and its 200 day moving average is $189.80.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.24.

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.