Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by CHICAGO TRUST Co NA

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 22.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,193 shares during the quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,251,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 11,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $236.33 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $242.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $231.31 and its 200-day moving average is $223.48.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. CIBC upped their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.06.

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.