Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA Acquires 1,522 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 49.0% in the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 4,626 shares, valued at approximately $1,071,000.
• Waste Management reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.89 and achieving a 19.0% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The firm's quarterly dividend was declared at $0.825 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 48.96%.

Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 49.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,626 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up about 1.0% of Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 231 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 453,452 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $104,979,000 after buying an additional 7,026 shares during the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $447,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.35.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6%

WM stock traded up $1.45 during trading on Thursday, reaching $233.05. 1,045,122 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,589,605. The firm's 50 day moving average is $230.99 and its 200 day moving average is $228.69. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.69 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market cap of $93.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.96%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.