ABC Arbitrage SA Buys New Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 19,592 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,953,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% during the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Waste Management by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 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 $1,294,071.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,424,457.04. The trade was a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,185,967.59. This trade represents a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial increased their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.94.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, hitting $228.40. 1,256,174 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,679,337. The business's 50 day moving average price is $212.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.59. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $230.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market capitalization of $91.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

Waste Management 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.