Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Purchases 291 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 170.5% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.6 %

WM stock traded down $1.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $208.93. 301,224 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,711,331. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.74. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $208.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $200.61. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management 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.