Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC reduced its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,549 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 201 shares during the period. Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.4% during 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 buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Waste Management by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on WM shares. Melius started coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $229.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. 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. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $263.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $251.00.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $226.43 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $232.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.01.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% 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.