Empower Advisory Group LLC Has $90.64 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 436,629 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,725 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned about 0.11% of Waste Management worth $90,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 4.4% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,416 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 28.7% during the third quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 3,377 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,752 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,647,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 968,398 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $201,039,000 after purchasing an additional 14,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Buckingham Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,781 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $226.11.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of WM stock traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $225.86. 570,496 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,615,824. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $168.73 and a 1-year high of $226.84. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $210.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.65 billion, a PE ratio of 34.52, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.