Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Position Raised by Atwater Malick LLC

Atwater Malick LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69,985 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,221 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises 5.5% of Atwater Malick LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Atwater Malick LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $16,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM traded down $2.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $236.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,181,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,630,642. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $231.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.32.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.06.

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.