Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,285 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 22.0% in the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 8,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,829,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491 shares in the last quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.5% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 31,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,858,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 98.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 17,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,830,000 after purchasing an additional 8,596 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $221.39 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $211.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $220.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $89.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.Waste Management’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 51.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of Waste Management 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WM. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. CIBC lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.95.

About Waste Management

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.