Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Boosts Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,792 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 664 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $213.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $85.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $184.72 and a 12-month high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.39.

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.