GAMMA Investing LLC Has $442.04 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 26,095.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,902,081 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.47% of Waste Management worth $442,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 1,869,190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $377,184,000 after acquiring an additional 11,940 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 8,914 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 252,022 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $50,856,000 after acquiring an additional 23,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 81.3% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 15,093 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,046,000 after acquiring an additional 6,770 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WM. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.06.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $0.24 on Wednesday, reaching $239.95. 380,476 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,636,776. The company has a fifty day moving average of $230.90 and a 200-day moving average of $223.07. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $96.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.29, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was 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 through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 78,966 shares of company stock worth $18,486,402 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.