Forte Capital LLC ADV Boosts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Forte Capital LLC ADV increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,938 shares during the quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,085,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 199,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,223,000 after acquiring an additional 16,628 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 23,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,766,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 87,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,726,000 after acquiring an additional 11,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 987 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $229.07 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.81. The company has a market capitalization of $91.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,294,071.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,424,457.04. This trade represents a 7.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340 in the last three months. 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.