LRI Investments LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,193,000 after purchasing an additional 15,974 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $295,000. LBP AM SA bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,987,000. Finally, Choate Investment Advisors grew its stake in Waste Management by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 6,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,404,000 after buying an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $229.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.29.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $225.90 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.07, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $232.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.77%.

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.