Wedmont Private Capital Boosts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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 is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $208.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The company has a market cap of $83.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.20, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $207.37 and its 200 day moving average is $198.32. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.61.

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.