Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,047 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Waste Management by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $236.10. 1,414,057 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,621,764. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $231.75 and a 200-day moving average of $223.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the 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 directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on WM shares. Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. National Bank Financial raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Melius Research raised Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.00.

Waste Management 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.