Faithward Advisors LLC Acquires 650 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Faithward Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Faithward Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WM. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Trading Down 2.2 %

WM stock opened at $220.22 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $239.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $226.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.67. The firm has a market cap of $88.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS 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 37.93%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.