Wedbush Securities Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 21.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,328 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Waste Management Trading Up 1.0 %

WM traded up $2.33 on Friday, hitting $228.78. The company had a trading volume of 576,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,632,785. The company's fifty day moving average price is $227.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.04. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. 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 firm has a market cap of $92.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.66, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

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 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.76.

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.