Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) is Stack Financial Management Inc’s 8th Largest Position

Stack Financial Management Inc decreased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,265 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,984 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises about 3.0% of Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $26,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. abrdn plc boosted its stake in Waste Management by 315.7% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,457,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,165,000 after buying an additional 1,106,773 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 26,116.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 913,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $163,680,000 after purchasing an additional 910,418 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Waste Management by 16.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $827,815,000 after purchasing an additional 776,491 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its stake in Waste Management by 128.2% during the third quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 898,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $137,012,000 after purchasing an additional 504,924 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 13,927.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,319,000 after purchasing an additional 500,701 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $1.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $211.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 673,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,658,558. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $208.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $84.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.52, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.