JSF Financial LLC Acquires New Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• JSF Financial LLC has acquired 4,720 shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM), valued at approximately $1,093,000, marking a new position in the company's stock.
• Waste Management reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.92 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.89, alongside a revenue increase of 19% year-over-year.
• Analysts have issued mostly positive ratings for Waste Management, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $252.41.

JSF Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,720 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $229.21. 729,649 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,720,721. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.69 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $231.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $227.97. The company has a market cap of $92.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.35.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 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 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 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 owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company 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.