Norden Group LLC Invests $7.15 Million in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Norden Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 33,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,146,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WM. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.61.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:WM opened at $210.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $84.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $214.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $200.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

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.