Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 70,363 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 24.8%, selling 70,363 shares to hold a total of 212,978 shares valued at approximately $49.3 million.
• Various investors have adjusted their holdings in Waste Management, with 80.40% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Waste Management reported earnings of $1.92 per share, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $6.43 billion reflecting a 19% year-over-year increase.

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 24.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 212,978 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 70,363 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.05% of Waste Management worth $49,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% during the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several research reports. Melius initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $228.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.69 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The stock's 50 day moving average is $231.49 and its 200-day moving average is $228.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were 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. The trade was 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 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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