Liberty One Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Liberty One Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 119,716 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,597 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up approximately 2.8% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Liberty One Investment Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $27,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 26,095.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $442,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902,081 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 250.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $334,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,905 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $205,506,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, 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 company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $0.25 on Friday, hitting $225.90. 1,696,881 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,634,195. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.58. The company has a market cap of $90.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.07, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on WM. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.29.

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.