TFR Capital LLC. Makes New $247,000 Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

TFR Capital LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,226 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 1,869,190 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $377,184,000 after purchasing an additional 11,940 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $256,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 278,890 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $55,929,000 after acquiring an additional 8,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased 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 worth $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 87,947 shares of company stock valued at $20,536,508 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $237.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,855,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,860. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $239.32. The stock's 50-day moving average is $229.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.06.

Waste Management 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.