Saturna Capital Corp Has $394,000 Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Saturna Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $394,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.5 %

WM opened at $224.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.98, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

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.