KWB Wealth Buys 718 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

KWB Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the quarter. KWB Wealth’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 24.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 67,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,427,000 after purchasing an additional 13,193 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 47,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,154,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% in the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.5% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,266 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 48.2% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of WM opened at $207.12 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.17 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $214.62 and a 200-day moving average of $211.29.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report 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 research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.