ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Invests $274,000 in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 127.3% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 40.1% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.24.

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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the sale, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $0.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $207.88. 2,237,956 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,702,229. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54. The company has a market cap of $83.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $208.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

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.