Intact Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,500 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Intact Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,700 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nilsine Partners LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter worth $236,000. Praxis Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 11.8% in the first quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,680 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 5.6% in the first quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,371 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 15.4% in the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 3,483 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denver Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter worth $208,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM traded down $1.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $231.94. 2,583,457 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,617,385. The stock's fifty day moving average is $233.07 and its 200 day moving average is $224.04. The stock has a market cap of $93.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. 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 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $242.58.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.