Aspen Investment Management Inc Trims Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Aspen Investment Management Inc cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Aspen Investment Management Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Waste Management by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 31.7% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,893 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $601,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 75,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,774,000 after purchasing an additional 2,180 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 13,436 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Finally, Courier Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $244,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $229.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market capitalization of $91.94 billion, a PE ratio of 33.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $213.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.81. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

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.