Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 629 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

WM stock opened at $208.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WM. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price 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, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.