Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 33.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 38,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,642 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 218.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $302,494,000 after purchasing an additional 939,455 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in Waste Management by 163.7% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $309,317,000 after buying an additional 869,453 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,487,924,000 after buying an additional 774,255 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3,209.2% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,466,000 after buying an additional 660,776 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 247.5% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 868,780 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $198,799,000 after buying an additional 618,792 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on WM. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of WM opened at $229.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.53 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.54. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.40.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. Analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.42%.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.