Flputnam Investment Management Co. Acquires New Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $442,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 39,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,022,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 10,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $859,000. Keel Point LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 129,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WM. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. HSBC cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,804,339.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $1,844,111.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,507 shares of company stock worth $4,157,770. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $206.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $82.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.42, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $206.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.43.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

Waste Management 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.