CRA Financial Services LLC Buys New Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

CRA Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.61.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM traded up $0.67 on Friday, reaching $213.34. The company had a trading volume of 2,908,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,972,412. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $199.85. The company has a market cap of $85.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.10%.

Waste Management 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.