Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. Purchases New Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 7,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,569,000. Waste Management makes up 1.6% of Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 170.5% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $208.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $83.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $209.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.80. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. CIBC dropped their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Waste Management 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.