Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. Invests $233,000 in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WM. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,963,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,061,521,000 after purchasing an additional 46,084 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $827,815,000 after buying an additional 776,491 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $794,174,000 after buying an additional 66,816 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Waste Management by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,065,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $619,797,000 after acquiring an additional 90,129 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,446,103 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $372,886,000 after acquiring an additional 9,001 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded up $0.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $207.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,237,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,702,229. The firm has a market cap of $83.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $208.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.10%.

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.