OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Invests $290,000 in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,251 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 126.9% in the first 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 period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $1.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $227.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,996,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,634,919. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.38.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business'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 value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Eight 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.29.

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.