Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 235.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 353,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 248,085 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $75,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at $9,324,156.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $222.80. 1,221,059 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,509,656. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $225.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $203.88.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

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.