EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 49 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $222.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC increased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

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.