Appleton Partners Inc. MA Has $625,000 Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA cut its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 3,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, FCA Corp TX boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 5,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM traded down $0.17 on Tuesday, reaching $206.21. The company had a trading volume of 238,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,709,911. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The stock has a market cap of $82.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $207.21 and its 200 day moving average is $197.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company 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.