Raymond James Trust N.A. Buys 1,953 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 53,077 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,953 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% during the second quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.9% during the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its position in Waste Management by 4.1% in the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $221.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $212.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.00. The company has a market cap of $88.92 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $168.73 and a 12-month high of $226.84.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.11.

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.