L & S Advisors Inc Grows Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

L & S Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 505 shares during the quarter. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Waste Management by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 34,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,701 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 18.2% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,332,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 54.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 83,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,355,000 after acquiring an additional 29,315 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,245,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WM. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $227.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $91.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $224.57 and its 200 day moving average is $216.56. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction 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 represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.