Clearstead Trust LLC Raises Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,545 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises approximately 0.9% of Clearstead Trust LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:WM traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $207.88. The company had a trading volume of 2,237,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,702,229. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at $7,262,034.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. HSBC cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.24.

About Waste Management

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.