Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Acquired by Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 130.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,881 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 47.0% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total transaction of $1,724,044.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,644,130. This trade represents a 32.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 98,656 shares in the company, valued at $24,177,625.92. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $236.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.40. The company has a market capitalization of $95.50 billion, a PE ratio of 35.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

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.