Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Purchases 1,306 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $208.01 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.04, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.24.

Waste Management Company 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.