Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Raises Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 83.9% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $532,000. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 5,282 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,825,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 47,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,243 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $208.48 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $209.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.77. The firm has a market cap of $83.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $225.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management 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.