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

Clarius Group LLC decreased its position 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 institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,132,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $86,364,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 173,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,124,000 after purchasing an additional 4,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 312,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,990,000 after purchasing an additional 48,549 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.83.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

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

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $205.24. The company had a trading volume of 140,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,701,162. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $225.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $208.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.09. The firm has a market cap of $82.37 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

About Waste Management

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.