Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 7,453 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,488 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,453 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WM. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.76.

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Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $231.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 249,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,632,717. The stock has a market cap of $93.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.47. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $239.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 37.93%. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.