Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by West Coast Financial LLC

West Coast Financial LLC cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,023 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,968 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 1.6% of West Coast Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. West Coast Financial LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.06.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $0.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $238.37. 1,040,382 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,633,287. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $95.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $231.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.18.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,966 shares of company stock worth $18,486,402 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.