Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 3,643 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 11.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,264 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,643 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 1.1% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,193,000 after buying an additional 15,974 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $295,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,536 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,175 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,053,000 after buying an additional 1,601 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.6%

WM stock traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $227.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,996,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,633,521. The firm has a market cap of $91.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $231.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WM. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $251.29.

Insider Activity

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

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.