Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 85,135 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Calamos Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 30.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,919 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 85,135 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $42,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WM. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.19.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total transaction of $1,724,044.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,644,130. This trade represents a 32.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total value of $7,000,640.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 225,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,013,675.48. This trade represents a 11.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.4%

WM opened at $229.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $92.53 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $232.69 and a 200-day moving average of $222.37. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 56.42%.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc NYSE: WM is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.

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