Grove Street Fiduciary LLC Acquires Shares of 1,489 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Grove Street Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,489 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $345,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $822,588,000 after acquiring an additional 224,279 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Waste Management by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,996,773 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $806,509,000 after acquiring an additional 465,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,633,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $531,456,000 after acquiring an additional 177,398 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $252.41.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM traded down $1.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $229.58. 1,126,044 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,708,283. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $231.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $227.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.63, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was 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 insiders.

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.