Clarius Group LLC Sells 106 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Clarius Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 106 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 29.7% in the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% in the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the first quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 4,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:WM traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $205.24. 140,913 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,701,162. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.70, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.83.

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.