Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Acquired by Lbp Am Sa

Key Points

• Lbp Am Sa increased its stake in Waste Management by 24.1% in Q4, buying 9,071 shares to hold 46,640 shares valued at about $10.25 million.
• Waste Management slightly missed Q4 estimates (EPS $1.93 vs. $1.95; revenue $6.31B vs. $6.39B) but revenue was up 7.1% year‑over‑year, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78, ~1.7% yield).
• Insiders sold a total of 98,042 shares (~$23.04M) last quarter, including CEO James C. Fish Jr.'s sale of 30,390 shares, while analysts' consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $255.64.

Lbp Am Sa lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 24.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,640 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,071 shares during the period. Lbp Am Sa's holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Old Port Advisors grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,727,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group raised its stake in Waste Management by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 801 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendel Money Management lifted its position in Waste Management by 1.8% in the third quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 2,903 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $223.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.06. The company has a market capitalization of $90.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 56.42%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total value of $7,000,640.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 225,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,013,675.48. The trade was a 11.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the business'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 transaction, the vice president owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on WM. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on 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. boosted their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.64.

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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