Stonegate Investment Group LLC Purchases 2,167 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 16.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,167 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total value of $363,937.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 55,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,353,349.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.24.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock traded down $4.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $208.01. 2,243,871 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,682,581. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $208.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

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.