Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Boosts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,133 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,345 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 11.3% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,063,072,000 after buying an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $374,062,000 after buying an additional 437,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Waste Management by 138.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $149,168,000 after acquiring an additional 416,579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % 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 the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WM. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM traded down $1.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $227.89. 1,709,065 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,665,810. The company's 50-day moving average is $213.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The company has a market cap of $91.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

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.