Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Position Lifted by Greystone Financial Group LLC

Greystone Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 13.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,660 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,054 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for approximately 1.8% of Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.06.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.0%

WM stock opened at $236.33 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $231.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.48. The company has a market capitalization of $95.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.