Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Acquired by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its Waste Management stake by 514% in the fourth quarter, holding 80,055 shares worth about $17.6 million after the purchase.
• Waste Management reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.81 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 3.5% year over year to $6.23 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, and analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average price target of $255.67.

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 514.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,055 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 67,016 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $17,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth $3,092,000. Guerra Advisors Inc grew its position in Waste Management by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its position in Waste Management by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $43,192,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 537.0% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 95,721 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $21,138,000 after purchasing an additional 80,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Waste Management by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 69,287 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,301,000 after purchasing an additional 11,135 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of WM opened at $218.09 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.49. 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 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 54.70%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 98,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. This trade represents a 7.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,296 shares of company stock worth $8,569,283. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.67.

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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