Waverly Advisors LLC Buys 3,955 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Waverly Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,721 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,955 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $231.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. 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 $228.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.80.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

About Waste Management

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.