L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP Has $2.87 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,402 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 value of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 78,966 shares of company stock valued at $18,486,402. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WM. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, CIBC increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.06.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $239.07 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $231.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.18. The firm has a market cap of $96.20 billion, a PE ratio of 35.16, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.77%.

Waste Management Company 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.