Ninety One North America Inc. Sells 31,587 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ninety One North America Inc. lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 31.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,421 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 31,587 shares during the quarter. Ninety One North America Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $15,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% in the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.00.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.1%

Waste Management stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Monday, hitting $226.79. 1,516,463 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,625,059. The business's 50 day moving average is $232.87 and its 200 day moving average is $225.14. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $91.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. Waste Management's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was 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 accessible through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Company 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.