Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Key Points

• Envestnet Portfolio Solutions increased its Waste Management stake by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 10,205 shares and bringing its total to 57,378 shares worth about $12.6 million.
• Waste Management reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, posting EPS of $1.81 versus the $1.75 estimate, while revenue rose 3.5% year over year to $6.23 billion.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, payable June 18, which annualizes to $3.78 per share and yields about 1.7%.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,378 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,205 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter worth about $325,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $62,339,000 after buying an additional 20,122 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 68.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $83,843,000 after buying an additional 148,590 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% in the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $222.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $89.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $228.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 35,296 shares of company stock worth $8,569,283 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WM. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc NYSE: WM is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.