Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Purchases 4,732 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 18.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,754 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,732 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Eight equities 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. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.29.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $227.13 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $231.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $91.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. 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 earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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 $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management 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 approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently 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.

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