XY Planning Network Inc. Buys Shares of 1,428 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

XY Planning Network Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,428 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WM. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $247.06.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $3.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $241.09. 2,439,995 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,665,228. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock's fifty day moving average is $230.41 and its 200 day moving average is $222.79. The firm has a market cap of $97.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $241.68.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 87,947 shares of company stock valued at $20,536,508. Corporate 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.