ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 13,584 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 449.5% in the first quarter, buying 13,584 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 16,606 shares worth about $3.8 million.
• Waste Management reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.81 per share, though revenue of $6.23 billion slightly missed estimates. Revenue still rose 3.5% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, and analysts remain broadly positive with an average rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $256.20.

ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 449.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,606 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,584 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $10,206,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $43,192,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 333.1% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,442 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,855,000 after acquiring an additional 6,493 shares during the period. Goodman Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $16,898,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 793,346 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $173,774,000 after acquiring an additional 104,843 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $233.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,033,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,243,656. The firm's 50 day moving average is $220.79 and its 200-day moving average is $225.93. The firm has a market cap of $93.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to an "outperformer" rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.20.

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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