Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 1,137 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,763 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,137 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $23,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 69.0% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.4%

Waste Management stock traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $229.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,126,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,581,502. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $231.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.29. The firm has a market cap of $92.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WM shares. CIBC increased their price target on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 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 research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $252.41.

Waste Management 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.