Kovack Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 31.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $229.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $232.44. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.69.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 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%. Analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James boosted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer raised 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. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % 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, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.