CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Trims Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 388,836 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 17,335 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.10% of Waste Management worth $78,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $505,175,000 after acquiring an additional 276,287 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,638,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,327,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 245.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 6,689 shares during the period. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at about $562,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.76.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM traded down $3.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $226.70. 824,634 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,641,530. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $227.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. 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 $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

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.