Townsend & Associates Inc Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Townsend & Associates Inc boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 61.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,867 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 32,417 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up about 1.9% of Townsend & Associates Inc's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Townsend & Associates Inc's holdings in Waste Management were worth $15,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 40.1% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2 %

WM stock traded up $0.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $210.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,318,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,668,071. The stock has a market cap of $84.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $209.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.95. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 29,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.24.

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.