Regal Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 285 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Regal Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WM. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock traded down $1.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $200.55. 3,232,430 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,888,596. The company has a market capitalization of $80.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.82, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $208.00 and its 200 day moving average is $196.18. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.61.

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.