Empirical Finance LLC Buys 251 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of WM stock opened at $220.50 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $211.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.55. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.73 and a 52 week high of $226.84. The stock has a market cap of $88.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus increased their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Company 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.