LRI Investments LLC Invests $367,000 in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $784,486,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter worth approximately $300,594,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in Waste Management by 44.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $900,957,000 after buying an additional 1,303,466 shares in the last quarter. Mirova US LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 26,116.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 913,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $163,680,000 after buying an additional 910,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter worth approximately $117,299,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $2.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $196.96. 2,500,282 shares of the stock traded hands, 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.86.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend 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

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. CIBC reduced their target price on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Raymond James raised their target price on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.83.

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.