Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Boosts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 46,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,524 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its position in Waste Management by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,640,641.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $212.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $85.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $208.37 and its 200 day moving average is $186.50. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

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.