United Asset Strategies Inc. Grows Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 64,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises 1.2% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.9% during the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its position in Waste Management by 4.1% in the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Werlinich Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 4,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $209.43 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $84.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $183.00 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.28.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.72.

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.