Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Purchases 152 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 6,405 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,855 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 135.4% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 194.0% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 12,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,299,000 after buying an additional 8,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $205.37 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $205.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.54. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54. The stock has a market cap of $82.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 53.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $33,485.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,219,441. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director John C. Pope sold 185 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $33,485.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,441. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,242 shares of company stock valued at $5,929,355 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.85.

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.