Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 17.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,293 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 26,095.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $442,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902,081 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Waste Management by 250.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value 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 represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.06.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $238.37 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $95.92 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $231.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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