Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 84,752 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,362 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $3.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $226.43. 1,525,978 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,625,495. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $232.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.87. The company has a market cap of $91.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Management from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Melius initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Melius Research raised Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $251.00.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management 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 directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.