Beacon Financial Group Sells 1,677 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Beacon Financial Group trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,455 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,677 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Group's holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,082 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT raised its stake in Waste Management by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 1,293 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,046 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,639 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock traded down $0.52 during trading on Thursday, hitting $238.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,040,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,633,287. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock's 50 day moving average is $231.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.18. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The stock has a market cap of $95.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $247.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, 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 at this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the 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 now directly owns 16,542 shares in the company, 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 have sold a total of 78,966 shares of company stock valued at $18,486,402 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.