Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 17.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,025 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,952 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% in the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.0% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business'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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $228.92 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $233.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.63. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $92.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 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 firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WM. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $251.00.

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.

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