Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) is Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC's 5th Largest Position

Key Points

• Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. to 738,423 shares, making it the 5th largest position in their investment portfolio with a value of approximately $170.95 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Ameriprise Financial and Northern Trust, have also raised their holdings in Waste Management, reflecting growing confidence in the company's performance.
• Waste Management recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.92, beating expectations and showing a 19.0% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 738,423 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,419 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for 5.4% of Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC owned about 0.18% of Waste Management worth $170,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter worth $211,000. Founders Financial Alliance LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 3.6% in the first quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 4,985 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.7% in the first quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 3,353 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 9.7% in the first quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 5,901 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 112.2% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 444,378 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $102,878,000 after purchasing an additional 234,976 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WM shares. Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $254.35.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8%

Waste Management stock traded up $1.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $235.11. 1,088,435 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,562,063. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.69 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50-day moving average price is $230.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion for 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. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.96%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.