Atomi Financial Group Inc. Purchases 1,490 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 31.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,490 shares during the quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $784,486,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $300,594,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $900,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $193,955,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in Waste Management by 85.6% during the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $333,234,000 after purchasing an additional 720,358 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM traded up $0.38 on Tuesday, reaching $209.20. The company had a trading volume of 759,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,680,949. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $225.00. The company has a market cap of $83.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $208.06.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.83.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.