Prospera Financial Services Inc Has $2.06 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,894 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Pitcairn Co. grew its stake in Waste Management by 6.8% during the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 2,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter worth approximately $67,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 33.9% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter worth approximately $251,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 3.0% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,138 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. UBS Group raised their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Eleven 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.11.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $218.78 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $87.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.73 and a fifty-two week high of $226.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $212.24 and a 200-day moving average of $209.92.

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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 45.87%.

About Waste Management

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.