Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 6,168 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. by 38.7%, selling 6,168 shares and now owns 9,790 shares worth approximately $2.27 million.
• CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares at an average price of $237.36, resulting in a total transaction of nearly $13.74 million, reflecting a 40.82% decrease in her position.
• Analysts have raised the price target for Waste Management, with Citigroup increasing it from $260.00 to $271.00 and JPMorgan Chase & Co. raising it to $277.00, indicating a generally positive outlook for the company.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 38.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,790 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,168 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in Waste Management by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,199 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,831 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,508,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,701,000. MGO One Seven LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 12,882 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,982,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 8,941 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,070,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company'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 owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. CIBC upped their price target on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. National Bank Financial raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Melius assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $254.35.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:WM opened at $228.89 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.69 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $231.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $228.38. The company has a market cap of $92.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's dividend 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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