Vestcor Inc Sells 1,750 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, now holding 50,312 shares valued at approximately $11.6 million.
• Eight analysts rate Waste Management stock as a Moderate Buy, with a consensus target price set at $252.41.
• Waste Management reported a 19% year-over-year revenue increase for the latest quarter, along with an EPS of $1.92, exceeding estimates by $0.03.

Vestcor Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 50,312 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,750 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Waste Management by 202.7% in the first quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 5,805 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,287,000 after buying an additional 3,887 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $11,661,000. Algebris UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at $2,176,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 14.8% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 80,926 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,735,000 after purchasing an additional 10,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.2% during the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,768,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $228.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,389,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,601,932. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The company's fifty day moving average is $231.65 and its 200-day moving average is $227.97. The company has a market capitalization of $92.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.69 and a 1 year high of $242.58.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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.

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.