Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 211,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,215 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.05% of Waste Management worth $37,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.85.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $207.07 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.10 billion, a PE ratio of 36.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.40. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total transaction of $363,937.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,353,349.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total value of $363,937.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 55,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,353,349.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.