Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 9.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,457 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,702 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 69.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.00.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM traded down $0.18 on Monday, hitting $236.32. 239,246 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,716,056. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $232.15 and a 200-day moving average of $223.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.76, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

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.