B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Has $7.53 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 104 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,799,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $859,624,000 after acquiring an additional 16,213 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $784,486,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Waste Management by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $900,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,466 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,997,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $357,729,000 after buying an additional 38,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,931,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $345,851,000 after purchasing an additional 17,254 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. 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 note on Friday, April 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded up $1.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $202.66. 1,682,592 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,708,528. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $205.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.33 billion, a PE ratio of 32.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

Waste Management Company 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.