Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $340.61 Million in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,687,946 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $340,611,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.42% of Waste Management at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 75,173 shares of company stock worth $17,075,967. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair restated 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.6 %

Waste Management stock traded up $3.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $229.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,906,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,524,248. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $218.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.73. 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 the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

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.