Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 66.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,300 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,550 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its position in Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 1,869,190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $377,184,000 after acquiring an additional 11,940 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 278,890 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $55,929,000 after purchasing an additional 8,914 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of 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. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,597 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,349,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP grew its position in Waste Management by 811.1% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 9,102 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,837,000 after buying an additional 8,103 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM traded down $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $236.10. 1,414,057 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,621,764. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $95.01 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $232.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.83. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Melius Research raised Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus 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.