Calamos Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Calamos Wealth Management raised its stake in Waste Management by 27.6% in Q4 to 79,543 shares (an additional 17,222 shares), valued at about $17.48 million.
• Insiders have been net sellers, disposing of 98,042 shares worth roughly $23.04 million in the past 90 days, leaving insiders with only 0.18% ownership.
• Analyst sentiment is positive (consensus "Moderate Buy") with a $255.19 average price target, and the company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78, ~1.6% yield).

Calamos Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,543 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 17,222 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $17,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $325,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 20,122 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $83,843,000 after purchasing an additional 148,590 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.19.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $229.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $232.69 and a 200 day moving average of $222.37. The firm has a market cap of $92.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.54. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Waste Management 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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