Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 67,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,427,000 after acquiring an additional 13,193 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 20,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,449,000 after buying an additional 1,540 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 1.9% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 24,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,165,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 39.5% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,926,000 after acquiring an additional 10,529 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE WM opened at $211.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $85.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $213.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.24. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.56 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. 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 (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid 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 (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 4th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.