Wolverine Asset Management LLC Sells 7,000 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Wolverine Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. by 33.3%, selling 7,000 shares, leaving it with a total of 14,000 shares valued at approximately $3.24 million.
• Several hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Waste Management, with Citigroup Inc. increasing its stake by 112.2% and now owning 444,378 shares valued at over $102 million.
• Waste Management reported a 19% increase in revenue year-over-year, achieving $6.43 billion for the quarter and beating earnings expectations with a reported $1.92 EPS.

Wolverine Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 33.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,000 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 5,901 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 112.2% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 444,378 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $102,878,000 after buying an additional 234,976 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 38.1% in the 1st quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 9,955 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,305,000 after buying an additional 2,747 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 9,038 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,092,000 after buying an additional 1,726 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 678,171 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $157,003,000 after buying an additional 70,577 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $235.11 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.84. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.69 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $94.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.64. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. Waste Management's 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 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

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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