Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Increases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 275,964 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,068,000 after purchasing an additional 14,229 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital bought a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth $235,000. Callahan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 2,392 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 105,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,135,000 after buying an additional 6,418 shares during the period. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 814 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the 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 directly owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $207.38 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54. The company has a market cap of $83.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.04, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $208.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.04.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 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.