Independent Advisor Alliance Has $9.63 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Independent Advisor Alliance cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,236 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $217.55 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $230.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.91. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 54.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WM. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.67.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,842 shares of company stock valued at $13,140,382. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.