Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 308 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WM. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 5.4% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 275,964 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,068,000 after buying an additional 14,229 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA increased its stake in Waste Management by 8.8% in the third quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 213,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,548,000 after purchasing an additional 17,276 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.4% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 112,059 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. increased its stake in Waste Management by 85.7% in the third quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 6,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $991,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 102.8% in the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,625,000 after purchasing an additional 11,291 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $210.10 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $208.54 and its 200-day moving average is $187.29. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market cap of $84.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current 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 represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.