Calamos Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Calamos Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 176,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $31,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $1.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $206.62. The stock had a trading volume of 192,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,651,597. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $206.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.57. The company has a market cap of $82.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.23, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

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.