Wolf Group Capital Advisors Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Wolf Group Capital Advisors bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,264,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.2%

Waste Management stock opened at $234.11 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $242.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $232.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $94.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Melius Research raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $263.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Melius initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.00.

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.