9,210 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Bought by Sowell Financial Services LLC

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,210 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,132,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now 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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WM. HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.00.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $234.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.81. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $94.40 billion, a PE ratio of 34.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

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.

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