Solidarity Wealth LLC Trims Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Solidarity Wealth LLC cut its stake in Waste Management by 74.9% in Q4, selling 11,004 shares and leaving 3,689 shares valued at about $811,000.
• Company insiders have been net sellers: VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares for roughly $2.85 million (reducing his holding by 66.93%), and insiders disposed of 98,042 shares worth about $23.04 million over the past 90 days.
• Waste Management raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78, ~1.6% yield), and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $255.19.

Solidarity Wealth LLC cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 74.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,689 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,004 shares during the quarter. Solidarity Wealth LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,366 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,430,000 after buying an additional 9,642 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 79,543 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,476,000 after acquiring an additional 17,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bravias Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Bravias Capital Group LLC now owns 3,979 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the sale, the vice president owned 6,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $229.64 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The business's 50-day moving average is $232.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 56.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.19.

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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