Bailard Inc. Buys 2,016 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 89,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,016 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $16,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,551,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 46,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,247,000 after buying an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,282,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM traded up $1.65 on Wednesday, hitting $210.43. 1,828,674 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,665,506. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $208.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.85.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,262,034.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.