Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 7,353 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,569,000. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.6% of Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,799,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $859,624,000 after buying an additional 16,213 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $900,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,466 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Waste Management by 11.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $473,047,000 after buying an additional 221,380 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in Waste Management by 85.6% during the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $333,234,000 after buying an additional 720,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in Waste Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,521,449 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $272,491,000 after acquiring an additional 5,103 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

Waste Management stock opened at $208.36 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $209.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.80. The firm has a market cap of $83.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. CIBC reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

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.