Little House Capital LLC Buys 4,355 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Little House Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 44.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,200 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,355 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% in the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, KRS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.1% in the first quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WM. Melius began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.00.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $228.14 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-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 50-day moving average price of $233.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.81 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders 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 was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 owned by insiders.

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.

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