Chicago Capital LLC Acquires 820 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Chicago Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 820 shares during the quarter. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its position in Waste Management by 811.1% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 9,102 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after buying an additional 8,103 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $3,251,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 446,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,084,000 after buying an additional 9,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 34,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,985,000 after acquiring an additional 10,936 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.8%

Waste Management stock opened at $234.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.40 billion, a PE ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $232.52 and its 200 day moving average is $223.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.00.

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.