Atom Investors LP Has $3.73 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Atom Investors LP lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 110.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,958 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,406 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 92.3% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,614,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. grew its position in Waste Management by 63.7% in the 2nd quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 1,779 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.4% during the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $988,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $228.22 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.90, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.71. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.73 and a 52 week high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.94.

About Waste Management

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.