Conning Inc. Sells 417 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Conning Inc. cut its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 417 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. This trade represents a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $224.94 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.48 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.43.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.50.

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.