Diversify Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,565 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WM. City Holding Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 48,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,858,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 26,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,318,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,718,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IAM Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 11,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,283,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $211.79 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.56 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $213.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC upped their target price on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 4th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.72.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’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 value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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.