Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stake Boosted by Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,485 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,904 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after acquiring an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $822,588,000 after buying an additional 224,279 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM traded up $0.29 on Tuesday, reaching $237.10. The company had a trading volume of 575,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,658,303. The company has a market capitalization of $95.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $229.43 and a 200-day moving average of $222.37. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $239.48.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of several research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.06.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,385 shares of company stock worth $6,636,603 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Waste Management

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.