Stevens Capital Management LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. by 102.7% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 1,090 shares, bringing their total to 2,151 shares worth approximately $498,000.
• Waste Management's recent quarterly earnings report showed an earnings per share of $1.67, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.59, with revenue of $6.02 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 1.44% and has a current dividend payout ratio of 49.77%.

Stevens Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 102.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,151 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in Waste Management were worth $498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% in 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 during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm'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 $3,917,311.02. This trade represents 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 owned by insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock traded down $1.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $234.42. 714,992 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,716,634. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $231.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.79. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.69 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.78, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.31% and a net margin of 11.36%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Melius initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.59.

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.