Diversify Wealth Management LLC Buys 1,453 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,565 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 67,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,427,000 after buying an additional 13,193 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 39.5% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,926,000 after acquiring an additional 10,529 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 20.1% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 225,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,085,000 after purchasing an additional 37,754 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 49,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,459,000 after purchasing an additional 2,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 6,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE WM opened at $211.79 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $85.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.56 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $213.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.25. 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 (NYSE:WM) last issued its 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 business 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%. The company’s quarterly 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 research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given 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 of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank started coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.72.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.