Live Oak Investment Partners Takes $967,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,381 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $967,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,662,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,617,866,000 after purchasing an additional 292,868 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,647,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,972,856,000 after buying an additional 126,329 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,390,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,232,131,000 after acquiring an additional 74,528 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,064,206,000. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in Waste Management by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,596,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $804,809,000 after acquiring an additional 284,733 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. This trade represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:WM opened at $221.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.12. 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.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 51.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Truist Financial set a $260.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $238.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, National Bankshares lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.45.

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.