Magnus Financial Group LLC Grows Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Magnus Financial Group LLC grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 332 shares during the quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $211.57 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $213.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.29. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $183.00 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The firm has a market cap of $84.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WM. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.72.

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.