Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Adapt Wealth Advisors LLC

Adapt Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,560 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,204 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up 1.0% of Adapt Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Adapt Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,135,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $99,759,000 after buying an additional 28,266 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in Waste Management by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,980,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 93,924 shares of company stock worth $21,298,176 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $233.60 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $228.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $239.32. The company has a market cap of $93.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Waste Management Company 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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