Procyon Advisors LLC Purchases 10,940 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Procyon Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 48.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,356 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,940 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 61,519 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,414,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. RDA Financial Network grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 6,816 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 7,428 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,031,000. Finally, Constitution Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,399,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WM traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $211.79. 1,663,684 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,458,420. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.24. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.56 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.72.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.