Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 1,637 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 20.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,518 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,637 shares during the quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.4% in the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WM. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.00.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $233.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $93.82 billion, a PE ratio of 35.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The business's 50 day moving average price is $232.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.95. 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 (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Company 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.

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