Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on WM shares. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.00.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $233.94 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $231.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $94.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $242.58.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

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.