1,018,415 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Acquired by Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,018,415 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $205,506,000. Waste Management comprises 1.1% of Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Waste Management as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,980,000 after acquiring an additional 4,798 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 1,869,190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $377,184,000 after acquiring an additional 11,940 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 322.5% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 8,407 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 6,417 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $1.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $229.76. 1,639,125 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,659,112. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $239.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $228.33 and a 200-day moving average of $221.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WM. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.