Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 170.5% during 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 period. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.83.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM traded down $5.82 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $201.94. 1,208,813 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,705,173. The company has a market cap of $80.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $208.97 and a 200 day moving average of $205.84. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $225.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.