Iowa State Bank Has $1.75 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Iowa State Bank grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the quarter. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position 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. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.3 %

WM stock traded down $0.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $201.05. The stock had a trading volume of 599,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,167,121. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $176.68 and a one year high of $230.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $215.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market capitalization of $80.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.72.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.