SNS Financial Group LLC Trims Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

SNS Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. SNS Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0 %

WM stock opened at $228.40 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The business’s 50-day moving average is $212.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $91.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. The trade was a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus increased their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.94.

Waste Management Company 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.