First County Bank CT Purchases 91 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

First County Bank CT lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the quarter. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% during 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. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.7 %

WM stock opened at $203.24 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.68 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $81.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.45. 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 (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. CIBC upped their target price on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.