1,568 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Purchased by 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,568 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in Waste Management by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,193,000 after buying an additional 15,974 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $242,000. Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,684 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $743,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,336 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock traded down $1.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $226.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 304,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,803. The company has a 50 day moving average of $233.03 and a 200 day moving average of $224.52. The stock has a market cap of $91.33 billion, a PE ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.00.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.