Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 141.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,282 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,677 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 444.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,728 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Waste Management by 218.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $302,494,000 after buying an additional 939,455 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in Waste Management by 163.7% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $309,317,000 after buying an additional 869,453 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Waste Management by 982.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,692,000 after buying an additional 804,285 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,487,924,000 after buying an additional 774,255 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $231.02 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.04. The company has a market capitalization of $93.18 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.59.

Waste Management 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.