Savvy Advisors Inc. Acquires 2,002 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 59.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,379 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,002 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 12.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $505,175,000 after buying an additional 276,287 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 19.9% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 990 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,638,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 4.6% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,327,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 245.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 6,689 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE WM traded up $1.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $230.84. 1,372,304 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,639,884. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $227.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.87 billion, a PE ratio of 33.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 48.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.76.

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.