LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI Acquires 168 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 30,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 168 shares during the quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $39,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $207.59. 1,064,610 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,551,850. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $214.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.38. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.83 and a 1 year high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. 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 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.72.

Waste Management Company 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.