11,099 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Bought by Littlejohn Financial Services Inc.

Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,099 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,570,000. Waste Management makes up 2.0% of Littlejohn Financial Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,046 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 14,475 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its stake in Waste Management by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,300 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $2.31 on Friday, reaching $236.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,181,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,630,642. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $231.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $95.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. 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 1.40%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.06.

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.