270 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Purchased by Physician Wealth Advisors Inc.

Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 270 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $54,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew 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 buying an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WM. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $231.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.08, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Waste Management Company 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.