Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $233.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $231.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.55.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WM. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.00.

About Waste Management

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.