West Coast Financial LLC Has $12.71 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

West Coast Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,991 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.4% of West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 8,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,778,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 1,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,830 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,589,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 2,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.72.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $207.14 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $214.44 and a 200-day moving average of $211.25. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.25 and a 1 year high of $230.39. The company has a market capitalization of $83.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

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.