Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Raises Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,392 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 514 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WM. Swedbank AB grew its position in Waste Management by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 11.3% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,063,072,000 after acquiring an additional 520,096 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 32.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after acquiring an additional 437,613 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 138.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,168,000 after acquiring an additional 416,579 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,668,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction 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 approximately $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 75,173 shares of company stock worth $17,075,967. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $230.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $217.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81. The stock has a market cap of $92.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

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.