First Pacific Financial Buys 1,287 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

First Pacific Financial raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the quarter. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WM shares. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.72.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE WM opened at $211.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $214.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.23. The company has a market capitalization of $84.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.25 and a 52 week high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued 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 yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Waste Management Company 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.