Fiduciary Family Office LLC Acquires New Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Fiduciary Family Office LLC has acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc., purchasing 3,306 shares valued at approximately $765,000, reflecting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Waste Management, with numerous upgrades and an average price target of $254.35 and a "Moderate Buy" rating.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, yielding 1.4%, showcasing its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Fiduciary Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,306 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $765,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st 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 during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth $45,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WM. UBS Group upped their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of WM stock opened at $235.11 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $230.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.71 billion, a PE ratio of 34.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.69 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. The company's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.