Terra Alpha Investments LLC Has $5.15 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Terra Alpha Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,226 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 5.6% of Terra Alpha Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Terra Alpha Investments LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 26,095.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $442,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902,081 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 250.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $334,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,905 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of WM stock traded down $1.05 on Friday, reaching $236.10. 1,414,057 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,621,764. The company has a market capitalization of $95.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The business's 50 day moving average price is $232.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.83.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WM. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 report on Friday, May 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.00.

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.