Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Twinbeech Capital LP

Twinbeech Capital LP grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 220.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 346,519 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 238,402 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises approximately 1.2% of Twinbeech Capital LP's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Twinbeech Capital LP owned approximately 0.09% of Waste Management worth $69,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 55,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,646,598.37. The trade was a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE WM traded up $0.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $234.18. 1,864,352 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,657,700. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. The stock has a market cap of $94.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $228.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.97.

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 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.29.

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.