Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. Reduces Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 595 shares during the quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $205.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $206.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The company has a market cap of $82.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was 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 $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WM. Truist Financial raised their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.85.

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.