Miller Financial Services LLC Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Miller Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,991 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in Waste Management by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 10,442 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares during the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 1,958 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the period. Clare Market Investments LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,067,000. Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,837,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 62,956 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,769 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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Waste Management Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of WM traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $223.77. 614,834 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,526,016. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $219.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market cap of $89.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective 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. 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.65.

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.