Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Has $1.46 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,286 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 220 shares during the quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.4% in the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Waste Management by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.00.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $234.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $94.25 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $231.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.