Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,790 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,717,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $227.26 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $223.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.19. The firm has a market cap of $91.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

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.