Atwood & Palmer Inc. Buys 98 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,251,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,147 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,451,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,502,000 after purchasing an additional 4,837 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WM. CIBC boosted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.00.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $233.94 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $231.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

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.