Argyle Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,275 shares during the quarter. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in Waste Management by 74.8% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 6,673.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 5,472 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 9,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,750,000 after acquiring an additional 849 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded down $2.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $210.10. 1,650,808 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,589,993. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $208.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.29. The company has a market cap of $84.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.