Atwood & Palmer Inc. Purchases 98 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of WM opened at $233.94 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $231.29 and a 200 day moving average of $223.55. The company has a market cap of $94.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.00.

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.