Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Acquires 75 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $224.25 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $235.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.98, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $219.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.04.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WM. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company 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.