Aviso Financial Inc. Has $2.49 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $222.92 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.15. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.78, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.