3,700 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Acquired by Hardin Capital Partners LLC

Hardin Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,700 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $857,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th 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 period. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 7,739 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $475,000. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 6,531 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 note on Friday, May 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 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. Insiders sold 78,966 shares of company stock worth $18,486,402 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $238.15. The stock had a trading volume of 440,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,632,742. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $231.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.18. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.02, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 earned $1.75 earnings per share. Waste Management's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

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.