Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Purchases 5,345 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,345 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $228.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $212.57 and its 200 day moving average is $212.59. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.12%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. This trade represents a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

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.