Graham Capital Management L.P. Buys Shares of 18,089 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 18,089 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,650,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 22,174 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,475,000 after purchasing an additional 3,954 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its stake in Waste Management by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 14,423 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,911,000 after purchasing an additional 2,029 shares during the period. Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $9,725,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 243,847 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $49,206,000 after acquiring an additional 101,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 292,967 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $59,118,000 after acquiring an additional 68,717 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM traded down $0.31 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $222.07. 2,175,847 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,660,176. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $228.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.37. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $239.32. 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 market cap of $89.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.66, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Waste Management's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James increased their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.29.

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.