Avanza Fonder AB Purchases Shares of 39,563 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 39,563 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,983,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.4 %

WM traded up $0.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $211.79. 1,663,684 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,458,420. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $213.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $181.56 and a one year high of $230.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 45.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WM. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.72.

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.