Algebris UK Ltd Buys Shares of 10,153 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Algebris UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc., purchasing 10,153 shares valued at approximately $2.176 million during the 1st quarter.
• Waste Management reported Q2 earnings per share of $1.92, beating analyst expectations of $1.89 and showing a 19% year-over-year revenue growth to $6.43 billion.
• HSBC upgraded Waste Management's shares from "hold" to "buy" and raised its price target to $265.00, reflecting strong investor interest and positive analyst sentiment.

Algebris UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,153 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,176,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% in the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.2%

WM stock traded down $0.39 on Friday, reaching $228.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 879,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,721,282. The firm has a market cap of $92.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.97, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $231.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.97. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.69 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 48.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 firm'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 transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Melius Research raised Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.35.

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.