First Horizon Advisors Inc. Acquires 2,886 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,813 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,886 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 8.5% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,407,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.0% in the third quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 22,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,348,000 after purchasing an additional 22,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 13,927.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,319,000 after purchasing an additional 500,701 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $207.88. 2,219,746 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,683,213. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.30.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WM. UBS Group lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.24.

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.