Edgestream Partners L.P. Boosts Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1,814.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,223 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 28,644 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 283,500 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $65,633,000 after acquiring an additional 7,751 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $137,108,000 after acquiring an additional 24,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WM. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $229.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $251.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, 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 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. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $225.73. 1,403,299 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,631,774. The company has a market cap of $90.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $231.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $226.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. Waste Management's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. 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.