Praxis Investment Management Inc. Acquires 1,546 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Praxis Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,680 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 811.1% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 9,102 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,837,000 after buying an additional 8,103 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $137,108,000 after buying an additional 24,023 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 34,617 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,985,000 after buying an additional 10,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,124,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $231.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,583,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,617,385. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $93.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company's 50 day moving average is $233.07 and its 200-day moving average is $224.04.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.00.

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.