Aberdeen Group plc Buys 40,666 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 567,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,666 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.14% of Waste Management worth $124,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WM. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 203 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $235.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $94.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.14. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. UBS Group upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total value of $7,000,640.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 225,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,013,675.48. The trade was a 11.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Waste Management

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.