Apollon Wealth Management LLC Sells 30,921 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Apollon Wealth Management cut its stake in Waste Management by 32.3%, selling 30,921 shares in Q4 and retaining 64,883 shares valued at $14.255 million.
• Waste Management slightly missed Q4 estimates (EPS $1.93 vs. $1.95; revenue $6.31B vs. $6.39B) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78, ~1.6% yield).
• Insiders sold 98,042 shares (~$23.0M) last quarter while institutional investors own about 80.40% of the stock; analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $254.82.

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 32.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,883 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 30,921 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% in the third 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 period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after buying an additional 277,250 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $873,276,000 after buying an additional 11,688 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Waste Management by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $781,494,000 after buying an additional 236,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its holdings in Waste Management by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $720,380,000 after buying an additional 364,512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $229.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $92.44 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $254.82.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was 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 approximately $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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