Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC Cuts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 1.4%, holding 83,092 shares worth approximately $19.2 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Waste Management, with Westend Capital Management growing its stake by 126.9% in the first quarter.
• Analysts have set a new consensus target price for Waste Management at $252.41, with eight analysts rating it as hold and thirteen giving it a buy rating.

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,092 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,180 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for about 1.7% of Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 126.9% during the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $252.41.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM traded down $1.53 on Monday, reaching $228.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,715,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,493,025. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.73. The company has a market cap of $91.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 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 52-week low of $197.43 and a 52-week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. Waste Management's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 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.