Xponance Inc. Has $18.56 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,978 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,746 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.1% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value 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 approximately $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $228.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $91.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $221.05 and a 200-day moving average of $215.47.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

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.