Graham Capital Management L.P. Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 18,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,650,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.29.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $233.03 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $228.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $93.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total transaction of $1,304,087.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,646,598.37. The trade was a 9.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124. 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.