Waste Management, Inc. $WM Holdings Raised by D.A. Davidson & CO.

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson increased its stake in Waste Management by 13.5% to 102,944 shares (worth $22.62M), and roughly 80.4% of WM stock is held by institutional investors.
• Company insiders have sold a total of 98,042 shares worth about $23.04M in the past 90 days, including large reductions by VP Michael J. Watson and SVP Rafael Carrasco.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $255.19, and Waste Management recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78, ~1.6% yield).

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,944 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,246 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $22,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,341,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors raised its position in Waste Management by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,727,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 1.3% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 44,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total value of $1,724,044.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,644,130. The trade was a 32.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WM. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.19.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $229.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $92.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.54. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $232.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.42. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 56.42%.

Waste Management Profile

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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