Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,900 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,150 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 41.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 283,500 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $65,633,000 after purchasing an additional 7,751 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $137,108,000 after purchasing an additional 24,023 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 13.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.29.

Insider Activity 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 value 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 $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $225.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,696,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,634,195. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $232.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.58. The company has a market capitalization of $90.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a P/E/G 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

About Waste Management

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.