MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,570 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,043 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.8% of MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.4% in the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 3.0% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Waste Management by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1%

Waste Management stock traded up $0.25 on Friday, hitting $225.90. 1,696,881 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,634,195. 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 $90.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $232.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $229.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Eight equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.29.

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.