Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stock Position Lifted by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 194,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,522 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $43,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 47.0% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gladwyn Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $238.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $234.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. CIBC reduced their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $221.21 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $215.74 and its 200-day moving average is $219.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $89.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.84, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.59. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 51.97%.

About Waste Management

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.