Chicago Capital LLC Acquires 820 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Chicago Capital LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 26,095.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $442,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902,081 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Waste Management by 250.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,716,000 after buying an additional 1,184,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth 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 during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was 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 Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $234.59 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $94.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $232.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results 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. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

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.