Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock Holdings Boosted by Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd

Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,831 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises 4.3% of Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.61.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock traded up $2.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $203.64. 1,412,722 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,920,195. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $207.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.25. The stock has a market cap of $81.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.10%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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.