31,644 Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Acquired by Cornerstone Advisors LLC

Cornerstone Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 167.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,541 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,644 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% in the third quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 16,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,344,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 5,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 1,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WM shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Waste Management from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Waste Management from $275.00 to $241.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $251.00 price objective on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $263.00 price objective (down from $264.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $771,629.10. This represents a 28.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.00, for a total value of $121,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,713 shares in the company, valued at $2,108,546. This trade represents a 5.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $243.47 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $200.57 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $221.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.87. The firm has a market cap of $96.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.97% and a net margin of 11.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a $0.9450 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.61%.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc., doing business as WM (NYSE:WM), is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transportation, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and other environmental infrastructure. WM’s services include curbside and commercial waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, organics processing and landfill disposal.