1,315 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Purchased by MFA Wealth Services

MFA Wealth Services bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during 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 in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus upped their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.72.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $209.96 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.29. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $183.00 and a one year high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.10, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 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 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.