Diamant Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 23,051.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 770,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 767,615 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Waste Management worth $17,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Services lifted its position in Waste Management by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 2,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $222,000. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 25.0% in the first quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 50,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,525,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, Realta Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter worth about $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4%

WM stock opened at $226.12 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $90.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.72, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $220.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WM shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.30.

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.