Advisors Asset Management Inc. Purchases 2,367 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,367 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 170.5% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $2.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $196.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,500,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,486,250. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.00 billion, a PE ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $209.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Raymond James boosted their price target on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.83.

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.