Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Purchases 7,880 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in Waste Management by 10.1%, buying 7,880 shares in Q4 to hold 85,830 shares worth about $18.86 million.
• Waste Management beat EPS expectations ($1.81 vs. $1.75) though revenue slightly missed; the company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78, yield ~1.7%).
• Insiders sold 92,616 shares worth $21.85 million in the last quarter (insiders own 0.18%), while institutional investors hold ~80.4% and analysts have a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $255.67.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,830 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,880 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,279,294.11. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 92,616 shares of company stock worth $21,849,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of WM stock opened at $228.81 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $232.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $91.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Citigroup cut their price target on 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 lifted their price target on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. One equities research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.67.

About Waste Management

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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