Vision Capital Management Inc. Makes New $649,000 Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Vision Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,802 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $649,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 283,500 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $65,633,000 after purchasing an additional 7,751 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $137,108,000 after purchasing an additional 24,023 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 13.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $225.65. 897,344 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,629,403. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.44. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. 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 (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business 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 1.46%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.29.

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.