PKS Advisory Services LLC Buys Shares of 1,264 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

PKS Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,264 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $340,611,000. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 138.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $149,168,000 after purchasing an additional 416,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $60,668,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on WM shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE WM traded down $1.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $227.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,264,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,188. The company has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $224.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.56.

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 (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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

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.