Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Graphene Investments SAS

Graphene Investments SAS lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for approximately 2.1% of Graphene Investments SAS’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Graphene Investments SAS’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $784,486,000. Mirova US LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 26,116.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 913,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $163,680,000 after purchasing an additional 910,418 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Waste Management by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,923,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $523,581,000 after buying an additional 844,298 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $117,299,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 13,927.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,319,000 after buying an additional 500,701 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $210.20. 720,755 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,722,434. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $84.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.47. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.61.

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.