Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Sells 23,508 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lowered its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 420,527 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 23,508 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned 0.10% of Waste Management worth $104,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,193,000 after purchasing an additional 15,974 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $295,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 252,800 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,013,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $782,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $252.41.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $2.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $230.58. 1,488,019 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,714,236. The stock has a market cap of $92.79 billion, a PE ratio of 34.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. The company's fifty day moving average is $231.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.77%.

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.