Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Central Valley Advisors LLC

Central Valley Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 49.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,912 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,800 shares during the period. Central Valley Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 26,095.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $442,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902,081 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 250.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after buying an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 now owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of WM stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $234.01. 1,319,910 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,621,740. The stock has a market cap of $94.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.55. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased 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. 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. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on 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, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.00.

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.