Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Grows Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 254,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,577 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $51,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Waste Management by 6.0% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 49,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,459,000 after acquiring an additional 2,760 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Waste Management by 167.1% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after buying an additional 5,777 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 7.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $677,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Finally, AlTi Global Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 35.6% during the 2nd quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 1,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $209.96 on Friday. 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 $84.27 billion, a PE ratio of 32.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $183.00 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $213.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.29.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WM. UBS Group raised their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.72.

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.