Retirement Planning Group LLC Acquires 4,699 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Retirement Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 473.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,691 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,699 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $43,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 47.0% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Gladwyn Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WM. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DZ Bank started coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial set a $260.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, National Bankshares lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.77.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $218.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50-day moving average is $214.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.31. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.97%.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.