Keeler Thomas Management LLC Has $1.79 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Keeler Thomas Management LLC reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 38.6%, owning 7,743 shares worth approximately $1.79 million following the sale of 4,876 shares.
• In contrast, Westend Capital Management LLC significantly increased its investment in Waste Management by 126.9%, highlighting varying strategies among institutional investors.
• CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares for over $13.7 million, which marks a 40.82% decrease in her ownership, signaling potential insider trading activity at the company.

Keeler Thomas Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 38.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,743 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,876 shares during the period. Keeler Thomas Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,520,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.4% during the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 3.0% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 2.0% in the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade 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

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. National Bank Financial raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded up $1.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $235.11. 1,088,435 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,562,063. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $230.87 and a 200 day moving average of $228.84. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.69 and a twelve month high of $242.58.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.96%.

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.