Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 66.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,690 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,082 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,398 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,502,000 after acquiring an additional 4,837 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,627 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $300,000. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 117.3% in the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE WM traded down $1.05 on Friday, reaching $236.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,414,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,622,604. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $232.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.80.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm'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 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Melius began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Eight investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management 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.