United Asset Strategies Inc. Boosts Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,279 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up about 1.2% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $13,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Trium Capital LLP raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 33.6% in the third quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after buying an additional 5,367 shares during the last quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 18.6% during the first quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 20,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,284,000 after buying an additional 3,145 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,146,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in Waste Management by 417.3% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.05.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE WM traded up $0.15 on Thursday, reaching $214.97. The company had a trading volume of 276,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,615,581. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.03 and a 1 year high of $225.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $209.14 and a 200-day moving average of $208.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.27 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

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.