Csenge Advisory Group Sells 49 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Csenge Advisory Group trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Catalina Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at $413,000. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 3.8% during the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 3,547 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth $43,390,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 4.4% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth $347,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $1.31 on Thursday, reaching $212.49. 473,350 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,702,267. The company has a market capitalization of $85.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $208.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.72. 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 (NYSE:WM) last announced 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 return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on WM shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.33.

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.