Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Sells 220 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,286 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 220 shares during the period. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mainsail Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% during the first quarter. Mainsail Financial Group LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc lifted its position in Waste Management by 51.0% during the first quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 5,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 707.9% during the first quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 243,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,289,000 after purchasing an additional 213,040 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas lifted its position in Waste Management by 10.2% during the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the first quarter. CX Institutional now owns 17,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,028,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.00.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $234.22 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $231.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.70. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a market cap of $94.25 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors 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 of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Waste Management

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.