Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 24,243 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Waste Management by 13.7% in the first quarter, owning 201,659 shares valued at approximately $46.69 million.
• HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, raising the price target from $210 to $265, reflecting strong market confidence in the company.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, representing a 1.44% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 49.77%.

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 13.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 201,659 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,243 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers owned approximately 0.05% of Waste Management worth $46,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, 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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $252.71.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $234.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 553,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,715,554. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.79. The stock has a market cap of $94.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.69 and a 12 month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.31% and a net margin of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 48.96%.

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.