Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Has $2.14 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,963,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,061,521,000 after purchasing an additional 46,084 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 16.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $827,815,000 after buying an additional 776,491 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $794,174,000 after buying an additional 66,816 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,065,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $619,797,000 after purchasing an additional 90,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,446,103 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $372,886,000 after purchasing an additional 9,001 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of WM traded down $2.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $210.07. 1,650,643 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,671,134. The firm has a market cap of $84.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $208.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.87.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $1,844,111.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $1,844,111.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company 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.