Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Makes New $251,000 Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 29.7% in the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. McAdam LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.7% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock traded down $2.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $196.96. 2,500,282 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,486,250. The company has a market cap of $79.00 billion, a PE ratio of 32.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $209.51 and a 200 day moving average of $204.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $225.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James upped their target price on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. CIBC cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.83.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were 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 approximately $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.