Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 40,280 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 376,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,280 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $86,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at $325,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 20,122 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Waste Management by 68.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $83,843,000 after purchasing an additional 148,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co lifted its position in Waste Management by 5.1% during the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3%

WM opened at $237.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $223.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.32, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to an “outperformer” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.74.

About Waste Management

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.