SL Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

SL Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 147.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,718 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,593 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up approximately 3.1% of SL Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. SL Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 283,500 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $65,633,000 after acquiring an additional 7,751 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $137,108,000 after acquiring an additional 24,023 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 34,617 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,985,000 after purchasing an additional 10,936 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $226.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,516,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,625,059. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company's fifty day moving average is $232.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.29. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. National Bank Financial raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.00.

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.