Yarbrough Capital LLC Makes New $402,000 Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Yarbrough Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,735 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of WM traded down $2.40 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $233.94. 1,305,759 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,622,941. The company has a market cap of $94.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.48.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business'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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Melius Research began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $263.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Melius started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.00.

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.