Northeast Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Northeast Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Northeast Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $538,013,000 after buying an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $374,062,000 after purchasing an additional 437,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 138.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $149,168,000 after purchasing an additional 416,579 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 5.1 %

NYSE WM opened at $220.25 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $184.72 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $212.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.29. The stock has a market cap of $88.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several research reports. William Blair began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.39.

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.