Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,322 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 14.7% during the 4th 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 period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $295,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,187 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,056,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 1,070 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.5%

WM opened at $225.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $90.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $232.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on 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 upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $251.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management 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 transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 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 insiders.

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.