Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,465 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,652 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.30.

Waste Management Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $221.12 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $88.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.45. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $223.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.65.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 54.70%.

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.