2,706 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Acquired by Arvest Bank Trust Division

Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,706 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $562,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 245.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 6,689 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 5.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 79,439 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $17,827,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 4.6% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,327,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,638,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 174,293 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,154,000 after buying an additional 38,334 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. CIBC upped their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $230.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $214.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,425,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,653. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $173.01 and a one year high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $217.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.35.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Waste Management Company 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.