Townsend & Associates Inc Acquires 32,417 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Townsend & Associates Inc boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 61.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,867 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,417 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for about 1.9% of Townsend & Associates Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $15,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 3,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM traded up $0.33 during trading on Thursday, hitting $210.33. 465,743 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,658,272. The business has a 50 day moving average of $209.04 and a 200-day moving average of $189.80. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54. 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 has a market capitalization of $84.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total value of $363,937.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 55,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,353,349.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,262,034.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.24.

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.