Independent Advisor Alliance Boosts Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,956 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,769 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $854,446,000 after acquiring an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $99,759,000 after acquiring an additional 28,266 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Waste Management by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,980,000 after acquiring an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $0.78 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $223.43. 527,467 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,525,590. The company has a market cap of $89.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $219.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.