Aljian Capital Management LLC Makes New $435,000 Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,096 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $435,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter worth $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $217.90 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $211.61 and a 200-day moving average of $209.71. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $168.73 and a 1 year high of $226.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $87.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.