Empower Advisory Group LLC Purchases 9,797 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 446,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,797 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $90,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $227.80 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $212.11 and a 200-day moving average of $212.29.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

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.