Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stake Lowered by Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.

Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,065 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,532 shares during the period. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its position 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 87.6% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $231.94. 2,583,457 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,617,385. The company has a market capitalization of $93.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $242.58. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $233.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Melius initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.00.

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.