Prospera Financial Services Inc Increases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Prospera Financial Services increased its Waste Management stake by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, adding 8,455 shares and bringing its total holdings to 54,355 shares worth about $11.95 million.
• Waste Management reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.81 per share for the quarter, though revenue of $6.23 billion came in slightly below estimates. The company also posted 3.5% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, payable June 18, implying an annualized payout of $3.78 and a dividend yield of 1.7%.

Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,355 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,455 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc's holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,331 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,763,000 after acquiring an additional 2,338 shares during the last quarter. Shelter Rock Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,105,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $357,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,273 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 5,845 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE WM opened at $218.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $87.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was 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 owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,279,294.11. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 35,296 shares of company stock worth $8,569,283 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Waste Management

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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