RMR Wealth Builders Boosts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

RMR Wealth Builders boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 29.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 127.3% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.2 %

WM opened at $210.00 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $209.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date 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.