Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 63.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,181 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 20,863 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aspiriant LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,000. Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 139,531 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $24,990,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $730,000. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 14,698 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,632,000 after buying an additional 936 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:WM traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $208.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,804,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,701,224. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $204.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54. The stock has a market cap of $83.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,242 shares of company stock worth $5,929,355 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.

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