Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 69,061 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 0.2% during the first quarter, owning approximately 9.29% of the company, valued at about $8.65 billion.
• Multiple hedge funds boosted their positions in Waste Management, with institutional investors now holding 80.40% of the company’s stock.
• The company reported a revenue increase of 19.0% year-over-year, with quarterly earnings per share of $1.92, surpassing analyst expectations.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,369,339 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 69,061 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.29% of Waste Management worth $8,651,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 3.4% during the first quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,836 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,583,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,509 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA raised its stake in Waste Management by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA now owns 4,626 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 231 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WM. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.35.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $231.59 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.69 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The stock has a market cap of $93.29 billion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $231.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.96%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.