Toth Financial Advisory Corp Has $4.43 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 19,139 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.7% during the first quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 137,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,879,000 after acquiring an additional 2,283 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $471,000. McDonough Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. McDonough Capital Management Inc now owns 27,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Waste Management by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 31,851 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,438,000 after buying an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $236.33 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $231.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.48. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.77%.

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.