Park Avenue Securities LLC Raises Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 92.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,858 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,165 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 26,095.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $442,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902,081 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 250.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,716,000 after buying an additional 1,184,905 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after buying an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Melius Research started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $263.00 price target for the company. Finally, Melius began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.00.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE WM traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $234.01. 1,319,477 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,621,733. The firm has a market cap of $94.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.55.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.