Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Milestone Asset Management LLC

Milestone Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $475,000. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 6,531 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 78.9% in the 4th quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 3,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 8,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 3,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $705,772.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 53,663 shares in the company, valued at $12,241,066.93. The trade was a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 87,733 shares of company stock worth $20,486,243 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WM. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.06.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE WM opened at $241.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $230.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $241.68. The company has a market capitalization of $97.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.45, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

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.