Empower Advisory Group LLC Raises Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 436,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,725 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned 0.11% of Waste Management worth $90,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trium Capital LLP raised its position in Waste Management by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after buying an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 77.4% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares in the last quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 18.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,145 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in Waste Management by 417.3% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $224.78 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $168.73 and a 52-week high of $226.50. The company has a market capitalization of $90.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $210.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.33.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on WM. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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.