C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors Purchases Shares of 6,324 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,345,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 1.9% during the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners grew its position in Waste Management by 4.1% during the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,294,071.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,424,457.04. This trade represents a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $228.38 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $91.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.59. 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 (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on WM. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.94.

Waste Management Company 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.