PFG Advisors Reduces Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

PFG Advisors reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 152 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $263.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $229.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.41.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the 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 owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $229.58 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $231.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $227.29. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $242.58. The stock has a market cap of $92.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.77%.

Waste Management 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.