MBA Advisors LLC Buys 127 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

MBA Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the quarter. MBA Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% during the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 3.0% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Waste Management by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

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

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $226.43 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $232.91 and its 200 day moving average is $224.75. The firm has a market cap of $91.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results 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. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WM. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.00.

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.