Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 9,442 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 37.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,958 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,442 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 12.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $505,175,000 after acquiring an additional 276,287 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,489 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 4,486 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,311 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in Waste Management by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,792 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM traded up $3.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $241.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,439,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,649,823. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $241.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.77. The firm has a market cap of $97.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $247.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management 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 owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 87,947 shares of company stock worth $20,536,508. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.