1,735 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Bought by Yarbrough Capital LLC

Yarbrough Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,735 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.06.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $236.33 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $231.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.47.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.