Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) is Jericho Financial LLP's 9th Largest Position

Jericho Financial LLP grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 23,740 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,881 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up 4.0% of Jericho Financial LLP's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Jericho Financial LLP's holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,654,173,000 after buying an additional 64,260 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after buying an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $822,588,000 after buying an additional 224,279 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM traded down $1.72 on Thursday, hitting $226.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,039,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,620,530. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $91.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $233.08 and a 200-day moving average of $224.30.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $250.71.

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.