Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 14.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV increased its holdings in Waste Management by 15.5% in the third quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV now owns 6,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its stake in Waste Management by 111.1% during the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 950 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 10,366.7% during the 3rd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 314 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1,036.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 115,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,998,000 after acquiring an additional 105,423 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.89.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.4 %

WM stock opened at $208.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $208.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.54. The company has a market capitalization of $83.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.36 and a 52 week high of $225.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.69%.

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.