D.A. Davidson & CO. Purchases 2,568 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 90,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,568 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $20,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth $53,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladwyn Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter worth $58,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. National Bankshares lowered their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Erste Group Bank cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.95.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $218.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.84. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $87.97 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $212.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.94.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.97%.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.