Stillwater Wealth Management Group Invests $3.69 Million in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Stillwater Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 16,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,693,000. Waste Management accounts for 2.6% of Stillwater Wealth Management Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,487,924,000 after buying an additional 774,255 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after acquiring an additional 277,250 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter worth $1,064,206,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,276,000 after acquiring an additional 11,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Waste Management by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,596,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $804,809,000 after purchasing an additional 284,733 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.59.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total value of $1,724,044.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,644,130. The trade was a 32.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the sale, the vice president owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $233.92 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $230.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.56. The stock has a market cap of $94.35 billion, a PE ratio of 34.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate 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 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 56.42%.

Waste Management Company 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.