Lighthouse Financial Services Inc. ADV Makes New $1.21 Million Investment in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Lighthouse Financial Services Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,566,508,000 after purchasing an additional 553,605 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 5.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,250,613,000 after buying an additional 277,250 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Waste Management by 0.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,276,000 after buying an additional 11,688 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $781,494,000 after purchasing an additional 236,439 shares during the period. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 12.6% during the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $720,380,000 after purchasing an additional 364,512 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $215.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The business’s 50 day moving average is $231.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.91. The company has a market cap of $86.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at $24,320,720.02. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 91,959 shares of company stock valued at $21,698,005 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.