Romano Brothers AND Company Has $4.53 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Romano Brothers AND Company reduced its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $213.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,908,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,972,412. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $199.85. The company has a market capitalization of $85.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.