Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC has increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 3.5%, now owning a total of 301,333 shares valued at approximately $69.76 million.
• Waste Management reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.92, surpassing estimates, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 19% to $6.43 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of approximately 48.96%.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 301,333 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,123 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.07% of Waste Management worth $69,762,000 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. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC lifted 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $228.89 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $231.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap of $92.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.69 and a twelve month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.35.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently 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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