Lmcg Investments LLC Acquires 19,416 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• 188.2% increase: Lmcg Investments LLC bought an additional 19,416 shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in Q4, bringing its total stake to 29,732 shares valued at $6.532 million.
• Quarterly results: Waste Management reported $1.81 EPS (vs. $1.75 est.) and $6.23 billion revenue, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78), implying a 1.7% yield and a 54.7% payout ratio.
• Positive analyst and institutional backdrop: multiple firms have raised price targets and ratings, leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a $255.67 target, while institutional investors own about 80.4% of the stock.

Lmcg Investments LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 188.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,732 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,416 shares during the quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Old Port Advisors boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,727,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $220.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $232.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.87. The firm has a market cap of $88.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.95, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.945 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WM. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,279,294.11. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 92,616 shares of company stock valued at $21,849,115 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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