Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Raises Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Activest Wealth Management lifted 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $941,181.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,639 shares in the company, valued at $14,288,582.29. This represents a 6.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $229.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The stock has a market cap of $92.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $218.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

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.