Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Acquires 1,454 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,328 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. Bolthouse Investments LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $302,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,906 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,210,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $1,657,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 27,505 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,550,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of WM traded up $4.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $233.55. 1,953,676 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,768,682. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.96 billion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $242.35.

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.