Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Boosts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,304 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for 2.3% of Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $37,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. William Blair began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.72.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $209.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $183.00 and a 1 year high of $230.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.27. The firm has a market cap of $84.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

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.