Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Decreases Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 112 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Melius began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $229.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business’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 value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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%

NYSE WM opened at $226.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.75. The firm has a market cap of $91.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

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.