Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC Has $6.16 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 25.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,028 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,437 shares during the quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,022,916,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 218.3% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $302,494,000 after purchasing an additional 939,455 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 163.7% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $309,317,000 after purchasing an additional 869,453 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after purchasing an additional 774,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3,209.2% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,466,000 after purchasing an additional 660,776 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $220.45 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $223.62 and its 200-day moving average is $224.46. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $88.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.45.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 54.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WM. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.67.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,320,720.02. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,515 shares of company stock worth $1,099,450. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.