Calamos Advisors LLC Purchases 114,236 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 70.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 275,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,236 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $55,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth 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 during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $223.89 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.20 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $89.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $212.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.24.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Argus increased their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,653 shares of company stock worth $364,287. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.