Empower Advisory Group LLC Grows Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 446,426 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,797 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned 0.11% of Waste Management worth $90,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,135,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $229.07. 1,189,606 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,664,494. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $212.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.70. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $91.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. 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. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WM. Argus raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.