Blair William & Co. IL Boosts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. by 192.6%, bringing its total ownership to approximately 303,773 shares valued at $70.3 million.
• Insider sales included CFO Devina A. Rankin selling 57,888 shares for over $13.7 million, marking a 40.82% decrease in her ownership.
• Waste Management reported earnings of $1.92 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $6.43 billion, up 19.0% from the previous year.

Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 192.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 303,773 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 199,949 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL owned about 0.08% of Waste Management worth $70,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other 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 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 approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $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 own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $228.89 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $231.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market cap 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.69 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The company's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 48.96%.

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.

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