Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by Beta Wealth Group Inc.

Beta Wealth Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 31.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,742 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,975 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises about 1.9% of Beta Wealth Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Beta Wealth Group Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares in the company, valued at $4,185,967.59. This represents a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,294,071.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,442 shares in the company, valued at $15,424,457.04. This represents a 7.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of WM stock traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $227.89. 1,709,065 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,665,810. The business's fifty day moving average is $213.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.47 billion, a P/E 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 released 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 return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.