Farther Finance Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 98.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,596 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth $325,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 25,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,802,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $221.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $211.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Waste Management from $234.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, November 14th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.95.

Waste Management Company 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.