RMR Wealth Builders Raises Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

RMR Wealth Builders raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the quarter. RMR Wealth Builders’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $207.02. 2,563,774 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,809,076. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $214.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.83 and a 1-year high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.72.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.