Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC

Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC decreased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 83 shares during the quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 810 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 3,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on WM shares. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Ten 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.24.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock traded up $2.09 on Monday, reaching $209.97. The company had a trading volume of 508,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,669,444. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $208.92 and its 200 day moving average is $189.05. The company has a market cap of $84.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.10%.

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.