Clarus Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,184 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $266,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,243 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,269,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,861,000 after buying an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $262,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity
In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 value of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 78,966 shares of company stock worth $18,486,402. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WM shares. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.06.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Waste Management
Waste Management Stock Performance
NYSE:WM traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $238.37. 1,040,052 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,635,022. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $231.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58.
Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Waste Management Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.38%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.
About Waste Management
(
Free Report)
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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