Lbp Am Sa Acquires 31,569 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

LBP AM SA grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 320.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,416 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,569 shares during the quarter. LBP AM SA's holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $225.54. 1,596,353 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,632,051. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $90.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.29.

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.