Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 35,117 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 10.1%, selling 35,117 shares, and now holds approximately 0.08% of the company valued at $72.63 million.
• CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management, representing a 40.82% decrease in her ownership, while the company recently reported earnings per share of $1.92, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Waste Management declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, with a current yield of 1.4% and a dividend payout ratio of 48.96%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 10.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 313,737 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 35,117 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Waste Management worth $72,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.0% in the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.3%

Waste Management stock opened at $229.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $231.20 and a 200 day moving average of $228.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.69 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $229.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $254.35.

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.

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