Alps Advisors Inc. Purchases 2,582 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 15.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,164 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,582 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.2% during the first quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 33,092 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,661,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the first quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,258 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,995,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. First Interstate Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at about $207,000. Topsail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% during the first quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 1,893,190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $438,292,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several research reports. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $251.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:WM traded up $0.25 on Friday, hitting $225.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,696,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,634,195. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $90.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $232.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

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.