123,492 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Acquired by Sone Capital Management LLC

Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 123,492 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $24,919,000. Waste Management comprises 3.2% of Sone Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 190.5% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 24,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,040,000 after purchasing an additional 16,377 shares in the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 220.5% during the 4th quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 346,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,924,000 after buying an additional 238,402 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 280,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,562,000 after buying an additional 34,800 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 38,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,736,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 527.2% in the fourth quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 7,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,579,000 after acquiring an additional 6,579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8%

WM stock opened at $229.76 on Monday. 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $239.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $228.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $221.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James increased 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. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.29.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 3,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $705,772.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,663 shares in the company, valued at $12,241,066.93. This represents a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,646,598.37. The trade was a 9.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.