BLB&B Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,724 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,360 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 126.9% in the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Melius assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned 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 target price of $251.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company'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 value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0%

WM stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $228.88. 1,573,767 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,620,256. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $233.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.52, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

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.