Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Has $3.09 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 73.4%, bringing its total investment to approximately $3.09 million.
• Waste Management reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS), exceeding estimates, with a 19% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Waste Management shares, with price targets ranging up to $271.00.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 73.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,330 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,641 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $822,588,000 after acquiring an additional 224,279 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,996,773 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $806,509,000 after acquiring an additional 465,789 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,633,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $531,456,000 after acquiring an additional 177,398 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,426,067 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $489,570,000 after acquiring an additional 170,046 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $228.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,389,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,601,932. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $231.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $228.12. The stock has a market cap of $92.11 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.69 and a 1-year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid 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 payout ratio is currently 48.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WM. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.35.

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.