Marietta Wealth Management LLC Purchases 1,836 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Marietta Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,371 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Marietta Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 87.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of WM traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $231.94. 2,583,457 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,617,385. The stock has a market cap of $93.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $233.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company 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 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm'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 now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Melius started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.00.

Waste Management Company 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.