Procyon Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $461,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,959 shares in the company, valued at $6,080,935.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $461,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,080,935.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $33,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,441. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,242 shares of company stock worth $5,929,355. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $213.27. 218,787 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,629,143. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $199.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $85.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.80, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 53.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.47.

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.