Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $295,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,463 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 15.4% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 81,918 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $17,006,000 after acquiring an additional 10,955 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Waste Management by 300.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 28,478 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,912,000 after purchasing an additional 21,370 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 3,434 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 52.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 572,326 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $118,815,000 after buying an additional 197,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 27,280 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,663,000 after buying an additional 2,133 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % 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 valued at $21,662,464 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $227.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,264,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,188. The company's 50-day moving average price is $224.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.63. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The firm has a market cap of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WM. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

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.