Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stake Decreased by GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 67.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,014 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 5,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 8,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,833,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,373,000. Finally, Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 24,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,468,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. The trade was a 7.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 617 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.13, for a total transaction of $150,628.21. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,345,356.91. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,296 shares of company stock worth $8,569,283. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2%

Waste Management stock opened at $218.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $87.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $227.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.51.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 54.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.67.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.