Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,405 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,048 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 4.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $137,108,000 after purchasing an additional 24,023 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 34,617 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,985,000 after purchasing an additional 10,936 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 13.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. Finally, GPM Growth Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 144.2% in the 4th quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. now owns 11,045 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,229,000 after buying an additional 6,522 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $226.43 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve 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 cap of $91.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $232.91 and a 200-day moving average of $224.75.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm 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 posted $1.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WM. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Waste Management from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $251.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's 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 $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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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