Planning Directions Inc. Buys New Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Planning Directions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $784,486,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $300,594,000. Mirova US LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 26,116.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 913,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $163,680,000 after acquiring an additional 910,418 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,923,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $523,581,000 after purchasing an additional 844,298 shares during the period. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at $117,299,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $223.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,283,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,699,765. The stock has a market cap of $89.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.52, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $209.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $203.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $224.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly 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. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WM. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.39.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was 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 directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

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.