Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Eastern Bank

Key Points

• Eastern Bank increased its holdings in Waste Management by 16.3% during the first quarter, bringing its total investment value to approximately $45 million.
• Waste Management reported a net margin of 11.36% and a quarterly revenue increase of 19.0% year-over-year, surpassing analyst expectations with earnings of $1.92 EPS.
• The company's recent quarterly dividend was $0.825, representing a 1.40% yield, with a payout ratio of 48.96%.

Eastern Bank lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 16.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 194,368 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,194 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank's holdings in Waste Management were worth $44,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $254.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, 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 value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $0.27 on Friday, reaching $228.89. 1,389,422 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,601,932. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.69 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $231.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

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.