Atria Investments Inc Acquires 1,301 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,405 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,301 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.6 %

WM stock opened at $229.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $92.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $218.22 and its 200 day moving average is $214.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,173 shares of company stock worth $17,075,967 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

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.