Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $210,000 in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 984 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter worth $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 62.9% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC lowered their target price on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.83.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $201.85 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $225.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.73. The company has a market capitalization of $81.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.