Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 38.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,693 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. William Blair began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 4th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $230.72.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of WM traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $211.79. 1,663,684 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,458,420. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $85.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50-day moving average is $213.80 and its 200-day moving average is $211.26. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.56 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

About Waste Management

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.