Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 3,233 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 25.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,233 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $223.97 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $90.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.54. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. Waste Management’s quarterly 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.42%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. This trade represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.64.

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.