First Merchants Corp Acquires 70 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

First Merchants Corp grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,401 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 70 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WM. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in 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 during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $227.80 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $230.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.96.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Ten 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, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.50.

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.