Guardian Capital LLC Makes New $2.33 Million Investment in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Guardian Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 10,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,333,000. Waste Management accounts for 2.1% of Guardian Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at $19,084,739.94. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 47,490 shares of company stock valued at $11,416,338 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $219.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a market cap of $88.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.81, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $229.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.92.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

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.