Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Connecticut Wealth Management LLC

Connecticut Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 62.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,285 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WM. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Raymond James upped their price target on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.24.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded up $2.25 on Monday, reaching $210.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 563,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,669,884. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $208.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $84.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.10%.

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.