B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 1,441 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,441 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 211 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $213.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $217.66 and its 200 day moving average is $211.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $173.01 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $85.57 billion, a PE ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WM. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.