EdgeRock Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 618 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $116,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 127.3% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded down $0.06 on Tuesday, hitting $210.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,282,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,677,830. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $209.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.80. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54. The stock has a market cap of $84.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

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 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.24.

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.