Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by Evergreen Private Wealth LLC

Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up 2.4% of Evergreen Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.0% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Waste Management by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.1%

WM opened at $225.90 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $232.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79. 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. 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, 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. Sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.29.

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.