Savant Capital LLC Purchases 211 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 176,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $31,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. abrdn plc lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 315.7% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,457,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,165,000 after buying an additional 1,106,773 shares in the last quarter. Mirova US LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 26,116.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 913,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $163,680,000 after purchasing an additional 910,418 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Waste Management by 16.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $827,815,000 after purchasing an additional 776,491 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its holdings in Waste Management by 128.2% during the 3rd quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 898,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $137,012,000 after purchasing an additional 504,924 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 13,927.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,319,000 after buying an additional 500,701 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $4.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $208.01. 2,243,871 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,682,581. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.69. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54. The firm has a market cap of $83.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.17, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.09 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total value of $69,075.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WM. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.24.

Waste Management 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.