Apollon Wealth Management LLC Buys 7,143 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,804 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,143 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $21,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,064,206,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 444.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $487,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800,728 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 15,782.4% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,728,486 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $395,512,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717,603 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 55.5% in the second quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,897,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $663,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,258 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 982.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,692,000 after purchasing an additional 804,285 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on WM. National Bankshares dropped their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $234.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.95.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of WM opened at $221.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $211.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.55. The stock has a market cap of $89.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.97%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.