Optas LLC Buys 1,017 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Optas LLC raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 83.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,017 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,654,173,000 after buying an additional 64,260 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after buying an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $822,588,000 after purchasing an additional 224,279 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the company’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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $236.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $232.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.80. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WM. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.