LS Investment Advisors LLC Has $5.71 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

LS Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $418,000. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,116,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 11.6% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 52,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,457 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 35.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 208.4% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 55,934 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,922,000 after acquiring an additional 37,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $220.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $88.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $209.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.06. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $168.73 and a 12-month high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on WM. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC increased their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.11.

Waste Management 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.