Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC Sells 4,040 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 56.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,145 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,040 shares during the period. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 26,095.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $442,038,000 after buying an additional 1,902,081 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in 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 worth $334,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,905 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during 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 buying an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $205,506,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, 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 WM stock remained flat at $225.65 during trading on Friday. 818,744 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,628,912. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $232.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.44. The firm has a market cap of $90.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.77%.

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.