5,804 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Purchased by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 5,804 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,344,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 13.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 21,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,903,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $209,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after acquiring an additional 3,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $234.01 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.62. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $94.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, 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.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $263.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.00.

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.