Ellsworth Advisors LLC Purchases 209 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises approximately 1.7% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,113,191 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,141,190,000 after purchasing an additional 121,055 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,370,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,156,281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,718,449 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Waste Management by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $827,815,000 after acquiring an additional 776,491 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $794,174,000 after purchasing an additional 66,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,112,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,972,000 after purchasing an additional 160,466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of WM stock traded down $0.82 on Friday, reaching $213.15. 2,699,109 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,476,426. The company has a market cap of $85.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $200.06 and a 200-day moving average of $179.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WM. HSBC downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $33,485.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,219,441. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $33,485.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,441. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,242 shares of company stock worth $5,929,355 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.