Miller Financial Services LLC Buys Shares of 1,991 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Miller Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,991 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $227.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, 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 current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.94. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.