Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC

ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 449.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,584 shares during the quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,566,508,000 after purchasing an additional 553,605 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,390,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,820,921,000 after buying an additional 281,456 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,972,371,000 after buying an additional 117,476 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after buying an additional 277,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,022,916,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8%

Waste Management stock traded up $1.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $233.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,033,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,243,656. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $220.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.77 billion, a PE ratio of 33.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.44. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to an “outperformer” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.20.

Waste Management Company 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.