Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Generate Investment Management Ltd

Generate Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 46.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,273 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 31,478 shares during the quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position 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 during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 24,023 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in 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 worth $6,985,000 after purchasing an additional 10,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjell Capital LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,124,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $250.53.

Waste Management Stock Down 2.3%

WM traded down $5.30 on Wednesday, reaching $228.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,166,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,619,938. The business's 50 day moving average is $233.18 and its 200 day moving average is $224.20. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The stock has a market cap of $92.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Waste Management

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.