Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,181,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 29,715 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.54% of Waste Management worth $505,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 41.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% in the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 283,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $65,633,000 after purchasing an additional 7,751 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $137,108,000 after buying an additional 24,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 13.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of WM opened at $233.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.58, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $230.99 and a 200 day moving average of $228.69. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.69 and a 1-year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Melius started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.35.

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.