Alta Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Alta Capital Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1,486.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,573 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 37,079 shares during the period. Alta Capital Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,526,823,000 after acquiring an additional 538,567 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $822,588,000 after buying an additional 224,279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. 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. Melius started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight equities research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $231.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,583,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,618,807. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $233.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

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.