Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Ascent Wealth Partners LLC

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 436 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at about $300,594,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,466 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at about $193,955,000. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 20,402.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,196,000 after acquiring an additional 863,846 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $217.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 44,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,250. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.06. The stock has a market cap of $87.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.73 and a 52 week high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.11.

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.