Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. Acquires 2,180 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,197 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,180 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for about 1.4% of Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 22.5% in 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 Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew 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. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Melius initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.00.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.1%

WM traded up $2.68 on Thursday, hitting $236.97. 680,503 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,728,157. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The company has a market cap of $95.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $231.42 and its 200-day moving average is $223.70.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio 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.