Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC Has $584,000 Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 20.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 29.7% in the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX grew its position in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 4,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $907,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. GYL Financial Synergies LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.8% during the second quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aries Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the second quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 8,780 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

Waste Management stock opened at $214.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $208.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $167.78 and a 1-year high of $225.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.05.

Waste Management Company 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.