Purpose Unlimited Inc. Acquires New Shares in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,126,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 55.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WM. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.30.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $214.40 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $221.00 and a 200-day moving average of $224.68. The company has a market capitalization of $86.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 54.70%.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.