Strategic Advisors LLC Sells 1,861 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Strategic Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 36,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,861 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises 1.6% of Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 69.0% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WM. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Melius assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.00.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

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

Waste Management Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $234.59 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

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.