Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,819 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.0% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 62,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,520,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 9.0% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 96,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,741,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 18,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,835,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Investment Group raised its position in Waste Management by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 3,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. CIBC increased their price target on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.24.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM traded up $0.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $207.88. 2,237,956 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,702,229. The company has a market capitalization of $83.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $208.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.30.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,804,339.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.