Terra Alpha Investments LLC Takes $4.23 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Terra Alpha Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 20,960 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,230,000. Waste Management makes up approximately 4.3% of Terra Alpha Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $225.06 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $90.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $220.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.35.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

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.