FIL Ltd Sells 103,375 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

FIL Ltd cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 299,061 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 103,375 shares during the period. FIL Ltd owned about 0.07% of Waste Management worth $60,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 391,225 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $78,945,000 after buying an additional 11,810 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Waste Management by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,062,824 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $416,257,000 after purchasing an additional 146,782 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Waste Management by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,741,720 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $351,462,000 after purchasing an additional 37,550 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $331,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 220,318 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $44,645,000 after buying an additional 6,468 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WM. UBS Group raised their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.76.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $231.90. The company had a trading volume of 283,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,737,484. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $218.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $93.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. 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 data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.