MUFG Securities EMEA plc Buys 8,104 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 165,198 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,104 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $36,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Old Port Advisors lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:WM opened at $211.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $84.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. 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’s 50 day moving average is $224.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.04.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its 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 the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 54.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 35,222 shares of company stock valued at $8,552,294 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.