West Coast Financial LLC Acquires 471 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

West Coast Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,991 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for approximately 1.4% of West Coast Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.1% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.9% in the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its position in Waste Management by 4.1% during the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Werlinich Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 4,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WM shares. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.72.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $207.14 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.25 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $214.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

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.