Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,454 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,554 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Waste Management were worth $13,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the 1st 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. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 87.6% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $251.00.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $3.04 on Friday, reaching $226.43. 1,525,978 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,625,583. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $232.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. 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, 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 firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 49.77%.

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.