Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stake Decreased by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $977,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 8.5% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.0% during the third quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 22,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,455,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,348,000 after purchasing an additional 22,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 13,927.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,319,000 after purchasing an additional 500,701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.21.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $2.60 on Friday, hitting $210.10. 1,650,808 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,589,993. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $208.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54. The company has a market cap of $84.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.