Independent Advisor Alliance Has $12.70 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 61,187 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,906 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 532,819 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $113,571,000 after purchasing an additional 18,429 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $894,000. Sweeney & Michel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth approximately $210,000. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,298,000. Finally, Vancity Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 58,319 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,430,000 after acquiring an additional 2,145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $224.41 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $212.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.10. The firm has a market cap of $90.07 billion, a PE ratio of 34.31, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.74. 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 $168.73 and a 1-year high of $226.84.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.