Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 1,007 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 26.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,007 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 51.8% in the third quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 211 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.72.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $214.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $173.01 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.35.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

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.