Graphene Investments SAS Sells 1,700 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Graphene Investments SAS cut its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 2.1% of Graphene Investments SAS’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Graphene Investments SAS’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 170.5% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC upped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

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

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $210.20. The stock had a trading volume of 720,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,722,434. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $208.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $200.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54. 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.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

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.