Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,799,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $859,624,000 after buying an additional 16,213 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $784,486,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after buying an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,997,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $357,729,000 after acquiring an additional 38,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Waste Management by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,931,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $345,851,000 after buying an additional 17,254 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded down $5.82 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $201.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,208,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,705,173. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $225.00. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James raised their target price on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.83.

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.