Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,249 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 18,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,346,000 after buying an additional 1,545 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $233,000. TCG Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $576,000. Finally, AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.24.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM traded up $0.72 on Friday, reaching $207.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,237,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,702,229. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The company has a market capitalization of $83.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $208.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. 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.