PharVision Advisers LLC Buys Shares of 3,338 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,338 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $674,000. Waste Management makes up about 0.6% of PharVision Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 1,869,190 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $377,184,000 after buying an additional 11,940 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $256,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 278,890 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $55,929,000 after buying an additional 8,914 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of WM stock opened at $233.91 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $228.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $221.88. The company has a market cap of $94.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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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