Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 180 shares during the quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 127.3% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 40.1% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WM. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.24.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $207.88. 2,237,956 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,702,229. The company’s 50-day moving average is $208.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54. The company has a market capitalization of $83.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at $7,262,034.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.