CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Buys 51,121 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 20.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 300,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 51,121 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.08% of Waste Management worth $64,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on WM shares. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Eleven research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.39.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM traded down $1.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $217.31. 1,358,352 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,688,759. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $210.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $225.00. The stock has a market cap of $87.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.