Sapient Capital LLC Makes New $12.65 Million Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 70,643 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,652,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.5% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,912 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,407,000 after buying an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 22,662 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,455,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,613 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,348,000 after acquiring an additional 22,455 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 13,927.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $90,319,000 after purchasing an additional 500,701 shares during the period. Finally, MWA Asset Management purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter worth approximately $670,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $33,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,219,441. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $33,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,441. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,242 shares of company stock valued at $5,929,355 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WM. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.85.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock traded down $2.24 on Thursday, hitting $205.96. 1,749,191 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,702,345. 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 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.65. The firm has a market cap of $82.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

About Waste Management

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.