UMB Bank n.a. Buys 12,740 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 28.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,272 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,740 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $13,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WM. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. Nine 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.00.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM traded up $0.23 on Wednesday, reaching $234.22. 1,080,738 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,620,504. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $94.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $231.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.62. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.