Courier Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Courier Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,033 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 1,869,190 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $377,184,000 after acquiring an additional 11,940 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 278,890 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $55,929,000 after buying an additional 8,914 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,597 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,349,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Finally, Weatherly Asset Management L. P. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 110,979 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $22,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,803 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.00.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $234.01. 1,319,477 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,621,733. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company's 50 day moving average price is $231.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.17 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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 announced 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. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.