Dover Advisors LLC Takes $378,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Dover Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $378,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 26,095.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $442,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902,081 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 250.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,905 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.4%

Waste Management stock opened at $236.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $95.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.72, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $232.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.83.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Melius began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.00.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.