Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. Acquires 78 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for about 1.1% of Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Waste Management by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 56,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,482,000 after buying an additional 1,697 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $3,251,000. Leo Wealth LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $427,000. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 874 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $224.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $211.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.34. The company has a market cap of $90.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. 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 $187.48 and a 52-week high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.12%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,055 shares of company stock worth $2,674,780 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.50.

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.