Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by HB Wealth Management LLC

HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 45,668 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,752 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WM stock opened at $211.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.24. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.56 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on WM. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.72.

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.