Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Has $1.97 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 69.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,650 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,531 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after acquiring an additional 538,567 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 64,260 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% during the fourth 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. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Waste Management from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Eight investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.00.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4%

WM stock opened at $226.43 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $232.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.75. The company has a market capitalization of $91.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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