Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Acquires 28,989 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 733,805 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,989 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.18% of Waste Management worth $169,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WM. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.00.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $224.82 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $232.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.29. The company has a market cap of $90.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.91, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The company's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 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.

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