Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 47.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,399 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 28,317 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased 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 period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 41.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% during the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 283,500 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $65,633,000 after purchasing an additional 7,751 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $137,108,000 after purchasing an additional 24,023 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Management from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. National Bank Financial raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $251.00.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:WM opened at $226.79 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.29.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% 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.

About Waste Management

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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