1,741 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Acquired by Advisor OS LLC

Advisor OS LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,741 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. increased its position 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 worth $620,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc increased its position in Waste Management by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $210.56. 108,379 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,639,954. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $209.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.91. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.24.

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.