Spire Wealth Management Sells 73 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Spire Wealth Management lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,122 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 73 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $210.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $209.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.80.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on 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 $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $1,844,111.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.