First Pacific Financial Purchases 1,287 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

First Pacific Financial boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after buying an additional 2,588,842 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 11.3% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after purchasing an additional 437,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 138.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $149,168,000 after purchasing an additional 416,579 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity 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 transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE WM opened at $211.02 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $180.25 and a one year high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $84.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $214.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.23.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.72.

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.