PFG Investments LLC Cuts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

PFG Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 10.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,828 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 694 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Waste Management by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $231.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $93.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $233.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.04.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several recent research reports. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Melius began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.00.

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 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 directly owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 value of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.