Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Bought by Prospera Financial Services Inc

Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 54,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,455 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at $325,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Waste Management by 8.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,339,000 after buying an additional 20,122 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 68.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $83,843,000 after purchasing an additional 148,590 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% in the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $764,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $218.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.56, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $227.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% 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 617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,345,356.91. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,296 shares of company stock valued at $8,569,283. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.