Cohen Capital Management Inc. Takes $3.25 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Cohen Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 14,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,252,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,487,924,000 after acquiring an additional 774,255 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after acquiring an additional 277,250 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,276,000 after purchasing an additional 11,688 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Waste Management by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $781,494,000 after purchasing an additional 236,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its stake in Waste Management by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,380,000 after purchasing an additional 364,512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $235.23 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $232.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.32. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The company has a market cap of $94.78 billion, a PE ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.54. 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 (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 56.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.59.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total value of $7,000,640.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 225,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,013,675.48. The trade was a 11.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.