Amalgamated Bank Purchases 1,464 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Amalgamated Bank raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,136 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% during the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. CIBC increased their price target on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $251.00.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6%

WM stock opened at $228.14 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.66. The business's fifty day moving average price is $233.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.52.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. Waste Management's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Waste Management

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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