Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Regal Investment Advisors LLC

Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,566 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 399 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 12.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,175,000 after purchasing an additional 276,287 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,638,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 4.6% during the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,327,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 245.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 6,689 shares during the period. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $562,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WM shares. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.76.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $232.40 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. The company has a market capitalization of $93.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.47. 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 (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.