Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Buys 209 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Waste Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,963,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,061,521,000 after acquiring an additional 46,084 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Waste Management by 16.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $827,815,000 after acquiring an additional 776,491 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 1.3% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $794,174,000 after acquiring an additional 66,816 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Waste Management by 2.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,065,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $619,797,000 after acquiring an additional 90,129 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Waste Management by 0.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,446,103 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $372,886,000 after acquiring an additional 9,001 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WM. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.24.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:WM traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $210.00. 1,145,569 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,671,918. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.37, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total value of $69,075.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,641.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,641.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total transaction of $363,937.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 55,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,353,349.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.