RMR Wealth Builders Increases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank assumed 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.72.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $208.16 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day moving average is $214.44 and its 200 day moving average 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.17 and a 12 month high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company 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.