Values First Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Values First Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,883 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 470 shares during the quarter. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 18,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,242,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 17,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,138,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Courier Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $461,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,080,935.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $461,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,959 shares in the company, valued at $6,080,935.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,242 shares of company stock valued at $5,929,355. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WM. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Erste Group Bank raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.47.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $0.82 on Thursday, reaching $213.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,699,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,670,692. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $214.54. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.60 billion, a PE ratio of 37.66, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.72. 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 (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

Waste Management 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.