Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Position Boosted by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 397 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 3,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on WM shares. Raymond James boosted their target price on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,262,034.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3 %

WM stock traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $207.88. 2,237,956 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,702,229. The stock has a market cap of $83.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $208.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

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.