Avanza Fonder AB Buys New Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 39,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,983,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th 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. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Ten investment 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 MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.72.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $211.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $84.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $181.56 and a one year high of $230.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $214.24 and its 200 day moving average is $211.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.