20,307 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Bought by Hall Capital Management Co. Inc.

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,307 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,098,000. Waste Management makes up 1.9% of Hall Capital Management Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Waste Management by 250.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $334,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,905 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,506,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.5%

Waste Management stock traded up $1.24 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $238.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,791,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,075. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $229.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.48. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The stock has a market cap of $95.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,385 shares of company stock valued at $6,636,603. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $247.06.

Waste Management 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.