LRI Investments LLC Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 170.5% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded down $2.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $196.96. The stock had a trading volume of 2,500,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,486,250. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $209.51 and its 200 day moving average is $204.86. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.83.

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.