Callahan Advisors LLC Purchases 3,065 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Callahan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 163.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,937 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,065 shares during the quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 57.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,567 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 2,031 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,567 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in Waste Management by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 7,071 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $227.89. 1,709,065 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,665,810. The stock has a market cap of $91.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $213.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Truist Financial increased their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.94.

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.