First Affirmative Financial Network Purchases 158 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,988 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WM shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.39.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $209.93 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $184.72 and a one year high of $230.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $212.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.10, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Waste Management

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.