Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Has $3.78 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 12.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,345 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,870 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 26,095.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $442,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902,081 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 250.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,905 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,506,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WM. Melius assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.29.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade 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 Price Performance

NYSE:WM traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $225.54. 1,596,353 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,631,338. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $232.60 and a 200 day moving average of $225.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The stock has a market cap of $90.76 billion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The business 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 revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

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.