Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2,685.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 390 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $79,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Waste Management by 167.1% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,970,000 after buying an additional 5,777 shares during the period. AlTi Global Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 35.6% in the 2nd quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 1,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 460,102 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $97,671,000 after purchasing an additional 3,575 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 1,798.6% in the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 28,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,165,000 after purchasing an additional 27,375 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $209.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $183.00 and a 52-week high of $230.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $212.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.27. The company has a market capitalization of $84.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Argus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.72.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Profile

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.