Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Has $7.66 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. cut its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,109 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 444.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $487,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800,728 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Waste Management by 218.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $302,494,000 after purchasing an additional 939,455 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in Waste Management by 163.7% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $309,317,000 after purchasing an additional 869,453 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Waste Management by 982.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,692,000 after buying an additional 804,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after buying an additional 774,255 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $225.08 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.82. The firm has a market cap of $90.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.57.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 56.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.59.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.