Mystic Asset Management Inc. Grows Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Mystic Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 179.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,067 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.1% of Mystic Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Mystic Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WM. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of WM stock opened at $228.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $221.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.47. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.