Calamos Advisors LLC Purchases 114,236 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Calamos Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 70.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 275,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 114,236 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Waste Management worth $55,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $223.89 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $89.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.24. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.20 and a 52 week high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Argus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,653 shares of company stock valued at $364,287 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.