Xponance Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,853 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $21,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Waste Management by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,193,000 after buying an additional 15,974 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,135 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $295,000. Finally, Natural Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $225.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The company has a market cap of $90.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $232.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WM. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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