Captrust Financial Advisors Trims Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Captrust Financial Advisors trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 114,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,299 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $23,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth $39,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WM. William Blair began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $228.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $168.73 and a one year high of $230.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $215.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a PE ratio of 34.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its 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. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

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.