Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE WM opened at $213.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $85.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $184.72 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.30.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

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.