Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 12,507 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 216,576 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,507 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $49,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WM. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.20.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8%

WM stock traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $233.50. 1,033,338 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,243,656. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.44. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $220.79 and a 200-day moving average of $225.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.