Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC Buys New Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,750 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $756,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,587 shares in the company, valued at $12,646,598.37. The trade was a 9.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 3,094 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $705,772.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,241,066.93. The trade was a 5.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of WM opened at $233.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $228.54 and a 200 day moving average of $221.15.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. CIBC upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.29.

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.

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