Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 9,280 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 4.8% in Q4, buying 9,280 shares to hold 204,069 shares worth $44.84M; roughly 80.4% of WM is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Company insiders have been net sellers — executives sold 92,616 shares (~$21.85M) over the last 90 days — while Waste Management raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78, yield ~1.7%).
• Analysts give WM a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $255.67, and the company recently beat EPS estimates ($1.81 vs. $1.75) but slightly missed revenue expectations ($6.23B vs. $6.28B).

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 204,069 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,280 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Waste Management worth $44,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 218.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $302,494,000 after buying an additional 939,455 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 163.7% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $309,317,000 after buying an additional 869,453 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,487,924,000 after buying an additional 774,255 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3,209.2% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $150,466,000 after buying an additional 660,776 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 247.5% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 868,780 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $198,799,000 after purchasing an additional 618,792 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on 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 Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 92,616 shares of company stock valued at $21,849,115 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.7%

Waste Management stock opened at $220.75 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $232.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.945 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 54.70%.

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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