Ballentine Partners LLC Grows Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $0.88 during trading on Monday, reaching $209.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 72,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,708,305. The company has a market cap of $84.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.20, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $207.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $214.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WM. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.