Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC Acquires 514 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up about 1.1% of Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 69.0% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.41.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.7%

WM stock opened at $228.14 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $231.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.43 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $91.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

About Waste Management

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.