XML Financial LLC Acquires 239 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

XML Financial LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.0% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 49,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,459,000 after buying an additional 2,760 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Waste Management by 40.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 29,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,311,000 after purchasing an additional 8,448 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 167.1% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 5,777 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WM. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC raised their target price on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.72.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $211.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $84.92 billion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $183.00 and a one year high of $230.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $213.33 and a 200-day moving average of $211.29. 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 data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.