Ethic Inc. Has $6.84 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Ethic Inc. raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 31,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,092,000. Guerra Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 59.5% during the third quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after buying an additional 3,371 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,192,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 537.0% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 95,721 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,138,000 after buying an additional 80,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 19.1% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 69,287 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,301,000 after buying an additional 11,135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $215.18 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $231.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 54.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,279,294.11. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 91,959 shares of company stock valued at $21,698,005 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.