Parallel Advisors LLC Purchases 1,601 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,601 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of WM opened at $225.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $221.50 and a 200 day moving average of $215.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

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.