Cwm LLC Lowers Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Cwm LLC cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,108 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,464 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $24,333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $251.29.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $225.90 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $232.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.87. The firm has a market cap of $90.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.07, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. 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 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. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The company's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Waste Management Company 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.

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