Dakota Wealth Management Increases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Dakota Wealth Management raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,713 shares during the quarter. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $15,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trust Point Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $947,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. now owns 1,214 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 11,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $226.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $231.99 and a 200-day moving average of $220.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 56.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company 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.