Baldwin Investment Management LLC Sells 1,300 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Baldwin Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 11.0%, selling 1,300 shares, resulting in a total of 10,486 shares valued at approximately $2.43 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Westend Capital Management and West Branch Capital, have increased their holdings in Waste Management, reflecting a strong interest in the company as insiders own only 0.18% of the shares.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Waste Management, with a target price of $252.41, as the company reported better-than-expected earnings and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share.

Baldwin Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,486 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded down $1.53 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $228.14. 1,715,875 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,493,025. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $231.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.43 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Waste Management's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, 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 owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, CIBC raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $252.41.

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.