GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 26,095.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,902,081 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $442,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $241.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $230.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.79. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $241.68.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 87,947 shares of company stock valued at $20,536,508. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.06.

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.