Florida Financial Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Florida Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:WM opened at $227.26 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $235.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.19. The company has a market capitalization of $91.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC boosted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

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.