Focus Financial Network Inc. Has $1.71 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Focus Financial Network Inc. decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,393 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $413,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Waste Management by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $993,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WM. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.50.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WM stock opened at $226.78 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $211.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.48 and a twelve month high of $230.39. The company has a market capitalization of $91.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.35, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

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.