Board of the Pension Protection Fund Purchases Shares of 1,400 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position 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. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WM. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.72.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $206.98 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $214.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.25. The company has a market cap of $83.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 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 $180.17 and a 52-week high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.