Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Checchi Capital Advisers LLC

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at about $366,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 8.9% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 86,096 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,874,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Autumn Glory Partners LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 140.9% during the 3rd quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 2,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 1,381 shares during the period. Finally, Orrstown Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $643,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC boosted their target price on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.94.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $15,025,861. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $230.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $92.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $214.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $232.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

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.