United Asset Strategies Inc. Buys 826 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up about 1.2% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WM. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Waste Management by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,370,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,156,281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718,449 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 16.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $827,815,000 after buying an additional 776,491 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $794,174,000 after buying an additional 66,816 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,112,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,972,000 after buying an additional 160,466 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 110,208.2% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,778,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $749,659,000 after buying an additional 4,774,218 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total value of $363,937.86. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,057 shares of company stock worth $5,895,870. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM traded up $0.41 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $205.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 460,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,673,326. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.58 billion, a PE ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $205.99 and a 200 day moving average of $183.90. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. HSBC lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.85.

Waste Management Company 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.