Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 56 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 56 shares during the quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after buying an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Transform Wealth LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. Transform Wealth LLC now owns 20,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,159,000 after purchasing an additional 7,920 shares during the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 86,161 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,386,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 65,910 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,300,000 after purchasing an additional 3,831 shares during the period. Finally, Aspiriant LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $212.77 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $213.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.27. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $182.93 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The company has a market capitalization of $85.40 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WM. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Ten research 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.72.

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.