Crowley Wealth Management Inc. Sells 400 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Crowley Wealth Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 13.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 26,095.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $442,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902,081 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 250.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,905 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.1%

WM stock opened at $236.82 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $231.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.77. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $95.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for 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%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS 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 1.39%. 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, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WM. CIBC upped their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.00.

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.