Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Bought by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 68,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,596 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Auxano Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $710,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 57,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,607,000 after acquiring an additional 10,205 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 14,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,295,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 7,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the period. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $219.37 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $227.72 and its 200-day moving average is $223.42.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 35,296 shares of company stock worth $8,569,283 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Company 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.