RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,889 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $785,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 18.2% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,235 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,332,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $214,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 486.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 32,380 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,729,000 after purchasing an additional 26,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,398,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WM. Raymond James upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business'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 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $11.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $225.34. The stock had a trading volume of 4,183,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,624,472. 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 company has a market capitalization of $90.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $226.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.45. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.