Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,279 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for about 1.2% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $13,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,523,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $969,401,000 after purchasing an additional 12,664 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Waste Management by 44.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,466 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Waste Management by 6.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $820,539,000 after acquiring an additional 243,900 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $538,013,000 after acquiring an additional 2,588,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $473,047,000 after purchasing an additional 221,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM traded up $0.15 on Thursday, hitting $214.97. 276,356 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,615,581. The firm has a market cap of $86.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $209.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.03 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.05.

Waste Management Profile

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.