Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Increases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 49.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 898 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $211.79 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.56 and a 52-week high of $230.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $213.80 and a 200-day moving average of $211.24. The company has a market capitalization of $85.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company’s revenue 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.72.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.