Advyzon Investment Management LLC Makes New $447,000 Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Advyzon Investment Management LLC acquired 1,929 shares of Waste Management, Inc. (WM) in Q1, valued at approximately $447,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the stock.
• Waste Management reported a quarterly EPS of $1.92, exceeding estimates and showcasing a 19.0% year-over-year revenue increase to $6.43 billion.
• Analysts have generally rated Waste Management positively, with an average price target of $254.35 and many firms upgrading their ratings in recent months.

Advyzon Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,929 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6%

WM stock traded up $1.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $233.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,045,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,589,605. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.58, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $228.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.69 and a 52-week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The company's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. National Bank Financial raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of 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 assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

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.