6,819 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Acquired by Counterweight Ventures LLC

Counterweight Ventures LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,819 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $784,486,000. Mirova US LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 26,116.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 913,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $163,680,000 after acquiring an additional 910,418 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,923,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $523,581,000 after acquiring an additional 844,298 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $827,815,000 after acquiring an additional 776,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 128.2% during the 3rd quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 898,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $137,012,000 after acquiring an additional 504,924 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.61.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.2 %

Waste Management stock traded up $2.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $203.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,412,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,920,195. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $207.22 and its 200 day moving average is $197.25. The company has a market cap of $81.68 billion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

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.