5,485 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. $WM Bought by Lighthouse Financial Services Inc. ADV

Key Points

• Lighthouse Financial Services initiated a new position in Waste Management, buying 5,485 shares valued at about $1.205 million in the fourth quarter.
• Waste Management reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $1.81 versus estimates of $1.75, while revenue rose 3.5% year over year to $6.23 billion.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 per share, up from $0.83, bringing the annualized payout to $3.78 and a yield of about 1.8%.

Lighthouse Financial Services Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,485 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,205,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at about $3,092,000. Guerra Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Waste Management by 59.5% during the third quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,996,000 after buying an additional 3,371 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $43,192,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Compass Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 537.0% in the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 95,721 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,138,000 after purchasing an additional 80,695 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 19.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 69,287 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,301,000 after purchasing an additional 11,135 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WM. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 98,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,177,625.92. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 91,959 shares of company stock worth $21,698,005 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $215.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $231.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.91. The company has a market capitalization of $86.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The business's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.945 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

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.

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