Liberty One Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 112.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 242,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 128,602 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 3.0% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Liberty One Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Waste Management worth $53,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 47.0% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Gladwyn Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $218.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $214.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 51.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.77.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.