Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) is Edge Wealth Management LLC's 10th Largest Position

Edge Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,987 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,217 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises 3.1% of Edge Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Edge Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $15,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 24.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 67,624 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $14,427,000 after purchasing an additional 13,193 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,266 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,763,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Waste Management by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 55,212 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,779,000 after buying an additional 4,749 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Waste Management by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 60,003 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 30.2% during the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Argus raised their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $230.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE WM traded up $0.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $211.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,663,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,689,250. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.56 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $85.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $214.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.22.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

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.