Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,792 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.1% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 1.9% during the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners grew its position in Waste Management by 4.1% during the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Werlinich Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% during the third quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 4,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $910,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 4th. Finally, CIBC increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.39.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $213.62 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.30. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $184.72 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $85.74 billion, a PE ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

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.