Advisory Services Network LLC Buys 6,926 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 28.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,374 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,926 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 123.2% during the first quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $215.49 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $86.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $211.26 and a 200-day moving average of $221.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 51.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WM. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, November 14th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.14.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management 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.