Stillwater Wealth Management Group Takes $3.69 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Stillwater Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 16,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,693,000. Waste Management makes up approximately 2.6% of Stillwater Wealth Management Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WM. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter worth $700,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 211,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $12,824,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 28,981 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 357.5% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 4,634 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.59.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $233.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.91, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $230.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 98,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,177,625.92. The trade was a 7.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.