Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,397 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 224 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 0.6% of Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marietta Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,484,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 60,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,790,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 26,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $442,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 39,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,022,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM remained flat at $205.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday. 605,467 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,675,329. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $205.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.90. The stock has a market cap of $82.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 9,550 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total value of $1,738,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,816,516. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 9,550 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total value of $1,738,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,816,516. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $461,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,080,935.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,057 shares of company stock valued at $5,895,870 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. UBS Group cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.85.

About Waste Management

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.