Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Buys 24,323 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 704,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,323 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.18% of Waste Management worth $142,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on WM shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of WM stock opened at $220.22 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $226.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $217.67. 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 company has a market cap of $88.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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 37.93%. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

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.