Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 32,024 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 590,348 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 32,024 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.15% of Waste Management worth $136,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,193,000 after acquiring an additional 15,974 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,614 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,598 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,605,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $5.30 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $228.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,166,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,619,938. The firm has a market cap of $92.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66. The business's fifty day moving average price is $233.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WM. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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. Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $250.53.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction 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 now owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.