Aviance Capital Partners LLC Has $1.70 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% in the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.4%

Waste Management stock opened at $226.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $232.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.75. The firm has a market cap of $91.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WM. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $251.00.

Waste Management 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.