Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by First National Advisers LLC

First National Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WM. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of WM opened at $225.06 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $220.52 and its 200-day moving average is $215.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 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.