Lantz Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Lantz Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,804 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $840,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 4,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 5,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.3% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group grew its stake in Waste Management by 6.7% during the third quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 801 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.49, for a total value of $151,448.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 106,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,405,316.15. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 689 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.32, for a total value of $151,111.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 56,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,316,791.88. This trade represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,806 shares of company stock worth $1,490,204. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reduced their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.55.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $226.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $91.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $220.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.20.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.25%.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.