Choreo LLC Sells 3,666 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Choreo LLC reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 17.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,092 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,666 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 41.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% during the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 283,500 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $65,633,000 after buying an additional 7,751 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $137,108,000 after buying an additional 24,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 13.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of WM traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $229.67. 661,826 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,706,969. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.42 billion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $231.81 and a 200-day moving average of $227.11.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $252.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the firm'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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 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. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.