Waste Management, Inc. $WM Position Increased by NewEdge Wealth LLC

NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 27,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,885 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 101.5% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at $19,084,739.94. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 61,569 shares of company stock valued at $14,697,365. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE WM opened at $215.18 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $231.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.91. The company has a market capitalization of $86.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.