Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.

Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 1.2% of Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 21.7% in the third quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC now owns 2,433 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its position in Waste Management by 7.9% in the third quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 3,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $804,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 14.1% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 10.9% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 4.7% in the third quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.89.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $211.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 956,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,360,347. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.95 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.00 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $208.45.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 47.69%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.