MFG Wealth Management Inc. Buys New Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

MFG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 9,735 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,254,000. Waste Management accounts for 2.2% of MFG Wealth Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.4% during the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,698,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Melius Research raised Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $1.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $228.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,895,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,625,065. The firm has a market cap of $91.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The business's 50-day moving average is $233.03 and its 200 day moving average is $224.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

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.