Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 200 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 45.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 636 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Trium Capital LLP boosted its position in Waste Management by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 5,367 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 417.3% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $208.16 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.25. The stock has a market cap of $83.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.17 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.72.

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.