Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Raises Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 62.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,415 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,690 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Kampmann Melissa S. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at $1,828,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,295 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 59.4% in the first quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 1,878 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 6.1% during the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,992 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,776,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 1,944 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. 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

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. National Bank Financial raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $251.00.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded down $5.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $223.40. The company had a trading volume of 2,282,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,622,362. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.66. The company has a market capitalization of $89.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given 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 1.48%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 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.