Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 16.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,879,733 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 786,812 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.96% of Waste Management worth $898,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Waste Management by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,193,000 after purchasing an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 70,488 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $14,224,000 after buying an additional 7,453 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,062,824 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $416,257,000 after buying an additional 146,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 131.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 283,341 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $57,188,000 after buying an additional 161,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Melius started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Melius Research upgraded 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% 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 Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $231.59 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.69 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $231.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.54. The stock has a market cap of $93.29 billion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.96%.

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.

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