Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Holdings Increased by Global Assets Advisory LLC

Global Assets Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 199.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,703 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,466 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 26,095.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $442,038,000 after buying an additional 1,902,081 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 250.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of WM traded down $5.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $228.84. The stock had a trading volume of 2,166,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,719,417. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $233.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.20. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $92.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66.

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 company had revenue of $6.02 billion during 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%. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given 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 1.44%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company's 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 now directly owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on WM. Citigroup upped their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $250.53.

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.