Vise Technologies Inc. Buys 6,602 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Vise Technologies Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 80.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 6,602 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 14,769 shares valued at about $3.25 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on WM, with analysts assigning an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $255.67. Several firms recently raised their targets, including TD Cowen and Barclays.
• Waste Management reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.81 per share and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 1.7%.

Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 80.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,769 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,602 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,515 shares of company stock valued at $1,099,450. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $220.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $88.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.45. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $223.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.46.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. Waste Management's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.70%.

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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