Kampmann Melissa S. Buys New Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Kampmann Melissa S. bought a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,895 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,828,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 69.0% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of WM traded up $3.04 on Friday, hitting $226.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,525,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,625,583. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $232.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.64.

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 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%. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.00.

Waste Management Company 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.