Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Holdings Boosted by Covea Finance

Covea Finance increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 27.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 275,133 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 58,548 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for 2.9% of Covea Finance's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Covea Finance owned approximately 0.07% of Waste Management worth $63,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WM. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock traded down $1.28 on Friday, reaching $231.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,583,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,617,385. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The stock has a market cap of $93.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.04.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. 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.