Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Stonegate Investment Group LLC

Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 16.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,167 shares during the quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 48.2% in the 1st quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 9,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,945,000 after buying an additional 2,969 shares during the last quarter. American Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter worth approximately $233,000. Nilsine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth approximately $212,000. PFG Investments LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 114.2% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,792 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 9,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total value of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.24.

Waste Management Trading Down 2.0 %

WM stock traded down $4.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $208.01. 2,243,871 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,682,581. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.04, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Waste Management 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.