Larson Financial Group LLC Buys 1,006 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 57.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,173 shares of company stock worth $17,075,967 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $229.51 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $218.22 and a 200-day moving average of $214.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

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 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

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.