Townsend & Associates Inc Sells 12,504 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Townsend & Associates Inc trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 13.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,593 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,504 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.8% of Townsend & Associates Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Townsend & Associates Inc's holdings in Waste Management were worth $17,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 26,095.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $442,038,000 after buying an additional 1,902,081 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 250.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $228.14 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $233.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.52. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.81 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders 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 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 now directly owns 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday. 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. National Bank Financial raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.00.

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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