Advisory Services Network LLC Has $5.39 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 26,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,237 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $224.33 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.91.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WM. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.94.

Waste Management Profile

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.