Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Sells 8,287 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 87.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,202 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,287 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 811.1% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 9,102 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 8,103 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $137,108,000 after acquiring an additional 24,023 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 34,617 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,985,000 after purchasing an additional 10,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjell Capital LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $1,124,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $250.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management 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. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded down $5.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $228.84. 2,166,906 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,619,562. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $233.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.20. The stock has a market cap of $92.09 billion, a PE ratio of 34.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. 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 year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

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.