Golden State Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 372.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,630 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,073 shares during the quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $228.92. 1,752,232 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,620,442. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $233.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.63. The firm has a market cap of $92.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.00.

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.