Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by NewEdge Wealth LLC

NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 194.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,470 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 3,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $620,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 2,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.7% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dfpg Investments LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 9,297 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,660,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $33,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,441. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,242 shares of company stock valued at $5,929,355. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.3 %

Waste Management stock opened at $205.37 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.85.

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.