International Assets Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

International Assets Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 99.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,236 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,578,348 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 62.9% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $230.72.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of WM traded up $2.89 on Wednesday, hitting $206.28. 2,005,007 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,659,857. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.38 and a 1 year high of $230.39. The stock's 50 day moving average is $215.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.