Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Liberty One Investment Management LLC

Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 112.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 242,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 128,602 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises about 3.0% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $53,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 28.2% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 6.7% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Centurion Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter worth $229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday. Baird R W raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.77.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.1%

WM stock opened at $218.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $214.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.39. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.59.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted 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 quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

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.