Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 17.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,240 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,536 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 1,869,190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $377,184,000 after buying an additional 11,940 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 278,890 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $55,929,000 after purchasing an additional 8,914 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,597 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,349,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Finally, Weatherly Asset Management L. P. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 110,979 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $22,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 78,966 shares of company stock valued at $18,486,402 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $0.52 on Thursday, reaching $238.37. 1,040,382 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,635,024. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $231.13 and a 200-day moving average of $223.18. The firm has a market cap of $95.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.06.

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.