Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Purchases 2,819 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,819 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,963,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,061,521,000 after acquiring an additional 46,084 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $827,815,000 after buying an additional 776,491 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.3% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $794,174,000 after buying an additional 66,816 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Waste Management by 2.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,065,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $619,797,000 after acquiring an additional 90,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,446,103 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $372,886,000 after acquiring an additional 9,001 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE WM traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $207.88. 2,237,956 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,702,229. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.30. The firm has a market cap of $83.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WM. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.24.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $1,844,111.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $1,844,111.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.