Kathmere Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 16.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,686 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 69.0% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WM. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was 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 Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $225.90. 1,696,881 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,634,195. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $232.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

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.