Dover Advisors LLC Takes $378,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Dover Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,631 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $378,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.4% in the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% 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.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $236.10. 1,414,057 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,622,604. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.80. The firm has a market cap of $95.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.72, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Waste Management's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.