Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 33.6% in Q4 to 38,366 shares, valued at about $8.43 million.
• Waste Management slightly missed Q4 estimates with EPS of $1.93 versus $1.95 expected and revenue of $6.31B versus $6.39B, though revenue rose 7.1% year‑over‑year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78, 1.6% yield); insiders sold roughly 98,042 shares in the past three months and analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $255.19.

Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 33.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,366 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,642 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,487,924,000 after acquiring an additional 774,255 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,250,613,000 after acquiring an additional 277,250 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Waste Management by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $873,276,000 after acquiring an additional 11,688 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Waste Management by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $781,494,000 after acquiring an additional 236,439 shares during the period. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its position in Waste Management by 12.6% during the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $720,380,000 after acquiring an additional 364,512 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $229.64 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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 $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.19.

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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